BCM Georgia: Emergency Assistance Support

For more than 30 years, BCM Georgia has been focused on intervention efforts that keep families in their homes and off the streets. One of the primary ways they intervene is by forestalling evictions and utility shut-offs through their Emergency Assistance Program.

In fact, BCM Georgia estimates that without their financial assistance, there would be an average of 10 new homeless families a week in Atlanta.

Ten families with stories much like April’s.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it turned everyone's world upside down. For April, her work as an independent contractor required her to be in close proximity to people. Due to other health factors, she was at high risk for COVID-19 complications. Out of concern for her health, her doctor advised her to stop working.

Without that stream of income, April faced the reality that she could lose her home of more than 16 years.

Thankfully, she was connected to BCM Georgia. During the pandemic, BCM Georgia shifted the focus of their Emergency Assistance Program and expanded their traditional criteria to include COVID-19-specific relief. All over our community, people like April were suddenly navigating having no income, no safety net, and no idea when they would be able to go back to work.

BCM Georgia’s Emergency Assistance helped April maintain her regular mortgage payments while she was out of work. They stepped in to fill a gap at a time when she needed it most.

Through last year’s Be Rich campaign, your generosity helped BCM Georgia respond to the overwhelming increase of families in need while expanding to include COVID-19-specific relief. You funded a matching gift that provided assistance for 70 families with stories similar to April’s and allowed BCM Georgia to hire the case managers they needed to serve them.

Thanks to you, people like April could stay in their homes and keep food on their tables in a season that could have derailed everything. We all need a little help sometimes, and we’re grateful BCM Georgia is there to help when our community needs it most.