Unseen Atlanta

By 13, Charles had lost his mother and his father. His teenage sister became his legal guardian, set up his bank account, and taught him how to pay bills and buy groceries before leaving for the military. Years later, he made the hardest phone call of his life: asking to come back to the Potter’s House after walking away the first time. He left the first time because things were going too well, an...

Amber walked into Restoration House with her five-year-old daughter, not knowing if there'd even be a bed for her - she was the only mom in a line of strangers, waiting three hours in the August heat before she found out. There was a bed. From there, Amber went through 30 days at Restoration, moved into the full program at My Sister's House, and came out the other side with a job, her GE...

Barry left home at 13, took his first drink at 11, and spent years living on the streets of Atlanta before addiction and repeated hospital stays finally led him to The Potter's House. Today, he's nearly two years into working there as staff — the same program that once helped him get sober. In this episode of Unseen Atlanta, Barry shares the voice he heard in his car that told him to tak...

Sleeping outside Restoration House for two days, Laquana waited and prayed she'd get a bed before her body gave her away. She was seven months pregnant. In this episode of Unseen Atlanta, Laquana shares what it took to get sober, rebuild trust with her daughters, and learn to lean on a community instead of running from it. Her story is about what happens when someone finally accepts they&apos...

Before he ever walked through the gate at the Shepherd's Inn, Armon spent 40 years behind a pulpit — a pastor, a musician, a man well-known in his community. Then, almost overnight, he lost his job, his car, and his income. He found himself standing outside a shelter he never imagined needing. In this episode of Unseen Atlanta, Armon shares how a single answered phone call led him from "...

Tanya has spent five years helping women and children move from crisis to stability at My Sister's House. But the moment that stays with her isn't a program milestone. It's a phone call from a former client who told her, "I never knew love until Atlanta Mission loved me." In this episode, Tanya walks us through what it actually takes to rebuild a life. It's a conversa...

Andy walked into the Potter's House in 2008 with nothing but a duffle bag and a habit he couldn't outrun.  It wouldn't be simple. What followed was a relapse, a hard phone call, and a choice that ended up rewriting far more than just his own life. Two generations of his family carried the same addiction he did — and what Andy did next changed that story for all of them.  Today he si...

By his 60s, Derryl had built a business that employed 25 musicians and carved out a life doing exactly what he loved. Then COVID came and took everything — the gigs, the income, eventually even the roof over his head. For two years, his car in a hospital parking lot was home. But Derryl's story isn't about hitting rock bottom. It's about what happens when someone who spent decades h...

When you walk through the doors of Atlanta Mission, not because it's your job, but because you chose to be there, our clients notice. They notice the difference between someone who has to show up and someone who wanted to. In this episode of Unseen Atlanta, we talk about what that choice actually looks like and how Atlanta Mission will find a place for whatever you bring. A Georgia Tech stude...

For Elliot, that realization didn’t come easily. After a lifetime of feeling like he didn’t matter, and learning to push people away before they could hurt him, he found himself at a point where something had to change. In this episode of Unseen Atlanta, Elliot shares what it looked like to stop running, face the past, and begin doing the hard work of transformation. His story is a powerful remind...

After the loss of his wife, Eric found himself trying to cope with grief in ways that only made things worse. In this episode of Unseen Atlanta, he shares how unprocessed grief led him deeper into addiction, and what it looked like to finally confront what he was carrying. Eric’s story is about the moment things begin to shift in your life, and the decision to start rebuilding, one step at a time,...

That’s how Shanae explained sleeping in a car at Racetrac with her kids, trying to make the best of an impossible situation. In this episode of Unseen Atlanta, Shanae shares what it was like to live in survival mode, making difficult decisions just to get through each day. But her story doesn’t end there. It’s also about what happens when someone finds the support, stability, and tools to begin mo...

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What if real change doesn’t come from doing more, but from doing it together? In Episode 17 of Unseen Atlanta , our CEO Tensley Almand sits down with Bruce Deel, founder and CEO of City of Refuge, to talk about why collaboration creates lasting change in Atlanta. Bruce shares how City of Refuge grew by responding to real needs as they emerged, and why no single organization can solve homelessness...

In this episode, Good Samaritan CEO Breanna Lathrop shares why collaboration, not competition, is essential to transforming Atlanta’s health. From her early days volunteering at a free clinic in Iowa to leading a holistic health center serving uninsured families, Breanna’s story shows how small steps, taken faithfully, create real change.  She talks about the partnership between Good Sam and Atlan...

For years, Micah believed he was destined to die in addiction. His life was spinning out of control; hurting the people he loved, cycling through legal trouble, and trying to fix everything on his own strength. It wasn’t until a court-mandated stay at The Potter’s House that everything shifted.  In this episode, Micah shares the gritty truth about the beliefs that kept him stuck, the moment he fin...

Our guest this week, Johnny, works on staff at Atlanta Mission today. But getting here took nearly losing everything. Years before he ever encouraged a new man on campus, Johnny stood on the edge of a MARTA platform, ready to end his life. That night should have been the end. Instead, it became the beginning.  After surviving a suicide attempt and completing the program, Johnny stayed sober for 14...

After years of addiction and relapse, Mark Coffin hit rock bottom in a hotel lobby, detoxing alone with nowhere left to run. That moment changed everything.  In this episode, Mark shares how faith, 12-Step recovery, and doing “the next right thing” helped him rebuild his life from survival to stability, and eventually, to purpose.  Now more than 30 years sober and leading a thriving business, his...

For Danny, addiction started at just 11 years old. After decades of pain and arrests, he found himself completely broken. But God wasn’t finished yet.  Through The Potter’s House, Danny learned a new way to live. Now five years sober, he’s married, raising his daughter, and helping others believe that change is possible.  This episode is about what happens when you surrender everything, do the nex...

Ozzie spent years angry, trying to be someone he wasn’t. What started as fitting in turned into addiction, homelessness, and nights spent sleeping in bathrooms.  In jail, he prayed to God for help. The next day, The Potter’s House called.  This episode is the story of what happened next: how Ozzie faced the emotions he’d buried and learned that he wasn’t angry, he was just sad.  Support the show

This week on Unseen Atlanta, we sit down with Brooke Hempel, Senior VP of Research at Pinkston and Vice Chair of Atlanta Mission’s Board.  Brooke believes that nonprofits can only truly live out their missions by understanding people. In this episode, she shares why data is an act of stewardship, why excellence in marketing builds trust, and how the next generation’s search for hope could reshape...

This week’s episode features one of our employment partners, Adria Marshall, CEO and founder of EcoSlay. Adria decided to become an employment partner with us because she knows that most of us are “a few situations away” from those having to start over, and that when we choose to meet people where they are, good things happen.  In this conversation, Adria shares her own story of faith, perseveranc...

For most of his life, Denh felt like he had to handle everything alone. He learned to keep his pain quiet. But when he lost everything, he made the difficult choice to ask for help.  At The Potter’s House, Denh found people who listened for the first time. In this episode, he shares how learning humility, faith, and honesty helped him begin again, and what it really means to be heard for the first...

When churches and nonprofits join forces, the impact multiplies. In this conversation, Bryan Apinis, Director of the Intersect Project and Be Rich Campaign at North Point Ministries, shares how partnerships built on relationship have mobilized millions to give, serve, and love. Together with our CEO Tensley Almand, he explores what it means to move beyond charity into collaboration, and why the re...

At My Sister’s House, women talk about Ms. Avis the way you talk about someone who changed your life. She’s tough, direct, and refuses to let you hide behind denial. But she also has a gift: seeing past the addiction, past the pain, to the person God created you to be.  In this episode, Avis shares her own story of incarceration and recovery, and what she’s learned after more than a decade walking...