Located in the heart of poverty, hopelessness, and violence, Jars of Clay is surrounded by gang members who actively recruit young children into lives of violence and drugs. Poverty and addictions have sent many to live on the streets. Each night in Atlanta, over 14,000 people sleep on the sidewalks. Today in Atlanta, one of six families is living below the poverty line. The average family income for the poor has declined 27% since 1967.
These individuals are in desperate need of housing, food, and clothing. Community resources are stretched to the breaking point, caseloads with the Department of Family and Children’s Services are overwhelming and if you call the Atlanta shelters you will not find an opening; most shelters have six-month waiting lists.
The Beginning The core of Jars of Clay Outreach is a volunteer-driven non-profit organization that provides social services and outreach programs designed to meet physical, spiritual, and long-term needs.
Our vision is to be a part of the collaborative effort to impact issues of moral decay, substance abuse, hunger, health care, chronic homelessness and poverty that exists in the inner-city of Atlanta.
The vision was birthed in 1997, Pastor Anita Favors came across far too many drug fights and gang activity around her church in the community of Pittsburgh in Atlanta. With her gift of discernment, passion in Christ and strength of God, she began socializing, feeding and representing kids who got caught up in the life on the streets. Shortly thereafter she was offered a building free of charge to begin housing and training the lost.
Anita answered the call to personally serve Christ in 1996 and begin the outreach in 1997 and the church in 1999 to address the passion to save lives of the lost. In less than 3 months the outreach was fill and overflowing with hurting kids from the inner city. By addressing the physical needs of this impoverished community, Anita was given exclusive rights into gang families that otherwise would have been earned by car jacking, death hazing or pushing drugs. Today, when she rides around in the community or bumps into a kid on the street, most people acknowledge what is going to happen next; a prayer for salvation, a stern word of warning or an offer to reside in the shelter and begin a new path.
Now, Kingdom Worship Center is known as the church that never sleeps and Jars of Clay is the outreach that always gives and helps. Thousands have been healed through our programs and daily miracles are witnessed. Many times when people come to the shelter, they just don’t want to leave. Reaching over 500 people every month, we offer opportunities and resources for at-risk youth, low-income individuals, and families to reach self-sufficiency by providing basic necessities and emergency assistance.
In addition to food, clothing, job training and healthcare, we provide educational programs, parenting classes and after-school activities. We also provide residential programs for young people with children, women and teens. These programs are available 24hrs to anyone in need.
Through innovative street beat programs we are able to provide critical services to multiple distressed communities. Our unique, yet effective approach to issues within the community involves the mobilization of and support or many volunteers and churches. Volunteers lead daily outreaches that are designed to build relationships and to assess the needs of individuals or families within the community. Our programs reach, train and encourage those that are often excluded.
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