MAGNOLIA HOUSE, Shelter for Abused Women and Children
The Magnolia House was opened in 1984 and came under the
umbrella of Concerted Services Inc., in 1992. The
Magnolia House is fully staffed and ready to provide
emergency shelter for six to eight weeks to women and
children who are fleeing abusive and potentially
dangerous situations. By calling the 24-hour crisis line
(912- 285-5850), women and their children can enter the
shelter and benefit from a variety of services. The
shelter accepts clients from all over the state of
Georgia. The Magnolia House provides shelter to 14 women
and children and has been certified as a safe shelter by
the Department of Human resources.
The Mission of the Magnolia House is to afford
opportunities and assistance for women and children of
domestic violence to become self sufficient through
family stability, increase partnership affiliations,
community revitalization and support. Domestic violence
is a serious problem that has been happening for
centuries. In the United States each year, it affects
millions of people, most often women. According to The
Department of Human Resources in 2000, 56,031 crisis
calls were made to shelters in Georgia. There were 3,155
adults and 3,619 children in Georgia shelters. This
resulted in 114,693 bed-nights taken up for women and
children that encountered abusive situations.
The Magnolia provides services to victims of domestic
violence who do not know where to turn, or have no place
to go for assistance. Domestic violence crosses all
social, economic, and cultural boundaries. The Magnolia
House provides many programs within the shelter as well
as outreach assistance. The services provided are: TANF,
(Temporary assistance for Needy Families), MACIN
Program, ( Mothers and Children in Need), Case
Management and Legal Advocacy Program. TANF is provided
to women with children in need of relocation or
assistance with: rent deposits, utilities, gas,
education, clothing, insurance, medical bills and food.
The duties of the case manager is to provide referral
assistance to all in shelter clients. The Magnolia House
referral list includes agencies such as: Department of
Family and Children Services, Employment, Education,
American Red Cross, Salvation Army, Mental Health, St.
Illa, and the Rape Crisis Center. The Mother and
Children in Need, (MACIN) Program assists children with
after school tutoring, educational outings and
children’s group sessions which includes the Good Touch/
Bad Touch Program. The Legal Advocate Program,
transports and assists women at court hearings, police
departments, lineups, legal aid, and to file Temporary
Protection Orders for the victims.
In 2007 the shelter provided over 3400 bed-nights for
victims of domestic violence. We provided services to
619 new victims of domestic violence and had 300 crisis
call at the shelter. The shelter staff provided 37,419
services to victims of domestic violence.
The goal of the Magnolia House, is to decrease the
number of domestic violence cases to zero, continue to
serve, protect and provide advocacy to women and
children of domestic violence. Unfortunately, domestic
violence is not decreasing, but increasing in not only
the five counties we serve but, in the nation.
