Woman goes from homeless to hopeful with help from Atlanta nonprofit

Robinson did find help in Atlanta, initially with Atlanta Mission, the city’s largest provider of services for people experiencing homelessness.

She found refuge at a variety of shelters for women and children, but her boys were nearing their preteen years and were at risk of being separated from her at the shelter.

Robinson was determined to find a place that would keep them together. Nicholas House, an Atlanta nonprofit serving unhoused families, stepped in to help.

In addition to keeping her kids with her, Robinson was connected to a case manager and provided services. She enrolled in the organization’s Surviving to Thriving program to help her budget for now and the future.

Robinson now works full time as an airport shuttle driver and is on track to exceed her savings goal and achieve financial independence, case manager Akuba Lewis said.

“At Nicholas House, we see resilience every day. But, every once in a while, a client’s determination truly stands out. Sharif is one of those clients,” Lewis said.

Almost a year ago, the family transitioned into a rental home in the city with a friendly neighbors and a big yard for the kids. Nicholas House provides a safety net with rent assistance and, if needed, help with utilities and groceries.

Robinson furnished the house using vouchers from the nonprofit — everything from pillows to the shower curtain.

“Nicholas House has supported me in ways I didn’t even know I needed,” Robinson said, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I’m truly blessed.”

Robinson’s journey through homelessness started in July 2022 when she and the children were displaced from their home in Chicago.

Robinson slept in her car for a while, and the children stayed with her extended family. But that was a temporary solution.

She even drove to Oklahoma, believing shelter was available for families. Once there, the family was in and out of temporary shelters and hotel rooms, sometimes living out of the car.

In desperation and out of options, Robinson said she cried out to God for help.

“He told me to go to Atlanta,” she said. Robinson didn’t know anyone in Atlanta, but she went.

“I got in my car with my babies — with my last 400 bucks, if that — and drove right to Atlanta Mission Restoration House and got the last bed in the family shelter that night,” Robinson said.

The family also stayed together in My Sister’s House, the Atlanta Mission’s women and children’s shelter. It provided Robinson with a place of mental rest and needed therapy for the toll being homeless had taken on her.

“I was stuck in survivor’s mode,” she said. “No one plans to be homeless. When things like this happen, you have to learn how to pivot.”

Robinson progressed through counseling and found time and self-publish a book about childhood hurts she said she needed to let go of.

Robinson said her book, “Letters To My Inner-Child: Healing Attention, Attachment & Abandonment Wounds,” was written for other girls with emotional pain.

“I didn’t write it for money, but God put it on my heart, and it had to be released. It’s a book that’s very sacred to my heart,” she said.

Robinson also restarted her bath and body business, Lather N Lux. While in Chicago, she created cold-process soaps, body washes, oils and scrubs as a hobby-turned-business. She works on the products in her living room and is preparing to relaunch her brand.

Instead of diminishing Robinson’s dreams and goals, homelessness fueled them.

“It literally lit a fire under me,” she said. “I can’t let the bad things crush me because I have kids, and they’re looking at me. When they become adults, I don’t want the bad things to crush and defeat them. I tell them: ‘Let’s use it as a stepping stone.‘”

Nicholas House said Robinson is a prime example of struggles that aren’t always visible.

“Despite her hardships, her positivity and determination to build a better future for her family are the foundation for the life she is creating,” Lewis said.

Robinson said she works hard because she never wants to return to homelessness. Still, she added, those years created a new level of compassion for others.

“No one plans for homelessness, but if you have goals, plans and dreams — or even if you just have kids — you’ve got to know you can make it out on the other side,” she said. “At least for them, if for no one else.”

NICHOLAS HOUSE

830 Blvd. SE, Atlanta

Serving families in housing crisis since 1982, with 450 families helped last year

To donate or volunteer: nicholashouse.org