Gateway Center
Downtown Atlanta's main front door for people without housing. It runs coordinated entry for the city, an engagement center with day services, and residential tracks for men including the Upward addiction-recovery program and a two-year veterans program.
The Shepherd's Inn
Shelter and residential program for up to 450 single men a day, with meals, counseling, recovery programming, job training and legal help. Arrive at the Mills Street gate early; pre-screening happens before the weekday morning intake window.
Chatham Savannah Authority for the Homeless
The lead homelessness agency for Savannah and Chatham County. Its street outreach team meets people where they are six days a week and connects them to shelter and housing, and it operates an Access Center for triage at Union Mission's day center on Fahm Street.
Center of Hope - Augusta
Emergency shelter in Augusta with separate check-in lines for single women, women with children, men and families. Dinner is served nightly and everyone checks out at 8 a.m.; caseworker appointments can be requested by phone or online.
Garden City Gospel Mission
Men's shelter on Fenwick Street in Augusta that also runs a nine-month residential Life Development Center for men working to leave addiction. Showers are open to the public on Fridays.
Georgia Crisis and Access Line (GCAL)
The state's single number for mental health and addiction emergencies and for getting into publicly funded treatment. Counselors talk people through a crisis, send mobile crisis teams, locate open detox or crisis beds anywhere in Georgia, and book urgent appointments with state-funded providers.
Georgia Legal Services Program
Nonprofit law firm handling civil cases for low-income Georgians in the 154 counties outside metro Atlanta, through regional offices around the state. Statewide intake runs through a toll-free line.
Atlanta Legal Aid Society
Free civil legal help for people in Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties who cannot afford a lawyer, with special projects for domestic violence survivors, veterans and people with disabilities. Online application is the fastest route; each county office also takes calls.
State Office of Vital Records
Issues certified Georgia birth certificates, the first document most people need before a state ID. Order online through ROVER for $25 plus $8 processing, by mail, or at a county vital records office; a physical government photo ID is required and standard processing can take up to ten weeks.
Indigent ID Card
Reduced-cost Georgia ID for people who cannot pay the normal fee. Get a voucher from an approved nonprofit Indigent Resource Provider, fill out the License/ID/Permit form online, then bring your documents to any DDS customer service center. A shelter or halfway-house letter dated within six months counts as proof of residency.
Georgia Gateway
The state's online portal for applying for SNAP, Medicaid, TANF, Refugee Cash Assistance, WIC and childcare assistance, and for the Pathways to Coverage Medicaid option for adults 19–64. Applications are available in other languages and free interpreters are offered by phone.
United Way 211 Greater Atlanta
Free, confidential referral line staffed around the clock that points Atlanta-area callers to rent and utility help, food pantries, shelter beds, and other services. The team also handles web chat and a texting option for people who cannot talk.
Reentry Services - Operations Support Division
The state unit that plans release for people in Georgia prisons and follows them into the community. Pre-release staff inside GDC facilities identify needs, community coordinators in every judicial circuit link people to housing, jobs and mentors, and the Housing Resources unit runs the THOR and Reentry Partnership Housing beds.
National lines that work in Georgia
Lifeline free phone program
Free or discounted phone and service for people on Medicaid, SNAP, SSI, or low income. Apply online or through a carrier.
SAMHSA National Helpline
Free, confidential treatment referral for substance use and mental health. Finds local programs that take your insurance or none.
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Call or text 988 for any mental health or substance use crisis. Available to anyone in any program.
National Domestic Violence Hotline
24/7 confidential help for anyone affected by domestic violence. Advocates connect you to local shelters and legal help.
National Human Trafficking Hotline
24/7 confidential hotline for survivors of trafficking and people who suspect it. Connects to vetted local services.