This summer marked huge milestones for Autumn and Tosha. These mothers and their children completed New Path 1010’s Life Restoration Program and transitioned into permanent housing!

The Life Restoration Program serves single mothers with school-aged or younger children who are experiencing homelessness. The program provides these families with transitional housing and wrap-around support. But the program’s goal extends far beyond providing a temporary place to live.

“Providing safe, stable housing is incredibly important, but housing alone doesn’t break the cycle,” said Tifanie Bean Ring, executive director of New Path 1010. “The goal of the Life Restoration Program is to give moms the time, support and resources they need to address what brought them to us in the first place. We want families to leave us equipped to move forward and remain stable long after they’ve left the program.”

During their time in the program, participants work toward long-term stability. This includes personalized goal setting, financial literacy and budgeting, employment, life-skills development, classes and supportive services. 

Each family’s journey looks different. New Path works with mothers to overcome their biggest barriers to stable, independent living. This summer, that work resulted in two families opening the doors to homes of their own.

Autumn’s Next Chapter

For Autumn, moving into permanent housing was the culmination of months of work. And it was the beginning of a new chapter for her family.

Her success is about more than securing housing; it’s also about building a foundation. She now has the tools she needs to remain housed and continue moving forward after our program.

“There’s something so special about watching a mom put the key into the door of her own home after everything she’s worked through to get there,” Ring said. “Those are the moments that remind us exactly why this program exists.”

Tosha’s Journey Comes Full Circle

Tosha spent 13 months in New Path’s Life Restoration Program, working toward her goals. She completed required classes, strengthened her financial literacy and budgeting skills, obtained gainful employment and prepared for the transition to permanent housing.

As move-out approached, though, one significant barrier remained: reliable transportation.

Tosha could afford her new rent, but she hadn’t yet saved enough to buy a dependable vehicle. Transportation directly affects the ability to maintain employment and sustain housing long-term.

“Transportation and housing insecurity are much more connected than people realize,” Ring said. “You can do everything right — find employment, learn to budget and get to the point where you can afford rent. But if you can’t always get to work, that stability can unravel quickly. We didn’t want Tosha to work this hard to get to permanent housing and still have that barrier standing in her way.”

Akins Ford, Bethlehem Church, Winder Housing Authority and generous community donors all came together to help. Thanks to this collaboration, just before Tosha moved into her new home, New Path surprised her with a reliable vehicle.

She left the Life Restoration Program with both the keys to permanent housing and the transportation she needed!

Restoration Through Community

Autumn’s and Tosha’s graduations show that lasting change comes from caring for the whole person.

Housing may be the immediate need, but long-term stability can also depend on so much more. Employment, transportation, financial skills, emotional support, healthy relationships, community resources and a network of supportive people — these are all pieces of the puzzle, too.

That’s why collaboration is central to New Path’s work.

“To see two moms move from transitional housing into permanent housing in one summer is a huge win for us. But more importantly, it’s a huge win for their families!” Ring said. “Their children watched their moms work, persevere and build something different for their families. That’s what we mean when we talk about breaking generational cycles. It’s not a quick fix; it’s one family at a time, one step at a time.”

New Path is grateful for the community partners, churches, businesses, donors, volunteers and individuals who make it possible to provide families with more than temporary help.

“We could never do this work alone,” Ring added. “Every time a family succeeds, there is an entire community behind that success. We’re so grateful for the people who continue to believe and invest in these families.”