Today we’d like to introduce you to Ellie Thaxton.
Hi Ellie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
As long as I can remember I’ve had a passion for child welfare. I know what it is like to be a child in need of a safe place, and I wanted to provide that for children like my aunt and others did for me. In 2012 I moved from a small town to Clarkston, Georgia to serve families living in the many “affordable” apartment complexes here. Living here really opened my eyes to the complexities of our child “welfare” system. I became close to a mother who I consider a supermom. She had fled domestic violence and was filling the role of mother and father while working two or three jobs, all for her kids. But because of her low income and little support, she lost her housing and was separated from her children. I then learned that this is a national problem – over 80% of the cases of children being placed in foster care are because of poverty, not abuse.
For folks with a low income, even a small hiccup such as missing a few days of work due to a sick child or a broken-down car can mean not being able to pay rent. Losing housing is one of the most common reasons children are taken into foster care, and research shows that long-term outcomes for children that spend any time in foster care are dismal. So we have loving, capable parents who just need some support and funding and would have no problem raising their children. Thankfully, my social network donated the funds for my previously mentioned friend to secure housing again, and she was reunited with her kids! She now has a great job and has been supporting her family on her own for years!
When the pandemic started, I knew that we had an eviction crisis coming, and single mothers would be the most impacted. With prayer, I partnered with some local organizations to start a rent relief effort that, to this day, has been able to help over 300 families to stay in their homes through the pandemic and the resulting economic downturn!
I now work alongside Giving Grace Network, a program of Atlanta-based non-profit REMERGE. Giving Grace focuses on the most vulnerable, economically disadvantaged people of our city including single parents, the disabled, and youth who have aged out of foster care. We help community members with emergency financial needs that threaten them from being displaced from their communities, such as housing, transportation, food, and daycare. In 2022 Giving Grace served over 2400 families! In one day we may receive over 40 requests, so we verify clients’ stories and painstakingly choose a few needs to post on our Facebook group (which has a growing membership of almost 10,000), and individuals donate to fund each need. For example, two months ago we received a call about a mother who had just given birth and couldn’t take her baby with her out of the hospital unless she secured stable housing. We found a room rental for her, and our group members donated to pay for her room for several weeks until she could start working again. Since then she has been able to take care of her bills and her own baby herself. It is awe-inspiring to see lives literally change course because of the generosity of our supporters!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Easy? Haha! Absolutely not. I have spent many late nights asking everyone I know for help for a mom in need. I’ve felt anger from seeing innocent people, including children, suffer injustice. I’ve sounded like a broken record talking about this issue. I’ve felt frustrated turning people away for lack of funding, knowing there is enough wealth in our city to meet these needs. I rack my brain but run out of ideas on how to raise more funding. So, I pray. I can’t give up because my Christian faith teaches us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. I know that I wouldn’t want my children to be hungry, sleep outside, or be taken from my custody.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am just a mom and a concerned citizen who saw a problem in my community and believed that I didn’t have to just sit and watch. I don’t have a degree in social work; everything I’ve learned about poverty and housing instability has been through relationships with people experiencing it. Many families have been saved from eviction because I told my friends about the need and they donated. Anyone can do that! You don’t have to have a degree or a lot of money, just a voice and a social network. I hope to inspire others to become advocates for those suffering injustices in their own communities.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
With the price of rent skyrocketing, the face of homelessness isn’t what one would expect. Right here in Atlanta, mothers and babies are literally sleeping in cars, parks, forests, and abandoned houses, vulnerable to the elements, theft, and assault. Moms are working so many hours that their children are getting very little of the attention they desperately need. They’re experiencing toxic stress to the point of having serious health issues such as seizures and strokes. These are the disturbing stories we hear every day, and it should bother you, too. Because like the human body, our stories are all interconnected; when one person suffers, we all experience the effects in some way, too.
Being part of Giving Grace encourages my heart. Being a grassroots organization, we can find out about a need and have it covered within hours. Every single dollar raised for a specific need goes directly to keep families stably housed and employed and children in school. For someone facing homelessness, just a few hundred dollars can mean the difference between safe shelter and the streets. We cannot do what we do without an incredible amount of community support! Please join our Facebook group, Giving Grace, to read these resilient families’ stories and to partner with us. Share about Giving Grace with your friends. If you can, please connect us with grant opportunities (such as foundations, companies, places of worship), too!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://remerge.org/giving-grace/ tinyurl.com/givinggraceatl
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/753366974750959/
Image Credits
Ashley Barnhill- Hometown Photography Tessa Flores- Raising Flowers Photography
