Today we’d like to introduce you to Kathy Parsons.
Hi Kathy, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Impact West GA’s work began in the area of homelessness when the Director of the Carrollton Housing Authority approached us about a shelter for men. We had worked with the city on other projects such has hunger relief and language classes. We opened the doors of HOPE Center in January 2008. Since then there has been a steady stream of expansion in the work we do.
We are faith based and depend on God and the community to provide for the extensive needs of a work like ours. We do not charge fees for any of our services.
The organization has three divisions (for lack of a better word). Homelessness, Veterans Services and Education.
In 2002 we were providing English As A Second Language classes at a local apartment complex where the city had provided an apartment. We soon grew out of that facility and moved into city owned property in a low income housing project where we remain today. We teach ESL classes, Adult Reading & Writing, and host a Cook Kids Club to foster the love of reading in our student’s children and neighborhood kids with “Story Parties” with characters related to the stories being read. Each child gets a copy of book to take home with them.
In 2005 we became a 502 (c) 3 non-profit organization as Impact International, Inc. We now DBA as Impact West GA because it better reflects who we are and what we do.
Also in 2005 the City of Carrollton contacted us about opening a shelter for adult men. We started working on a property owned by the city and opened HOPE Center in January 2008. We have since served hundreds of men to transition out of homelessness into independent living.
HOPE Center has also transitioned from being just a “shelter” into a transitional program. HOPE Center is a moderate to high barrier program. Men who wish to become “men of HOPE” are vetted to determine if they are willing to do the very hard work it takes to remove themselves from homelessness. The program can accommodate 10 men who live in the center until they are in a position to move into independent living. The time frame for this is different for each man based on individual circumstances. The program is structured with weekly case management meetings, goals, daily chores, financial responsibility, and accountability and employment requirements.
In 2012 a new division of Impact West GA opened: DESERVE Van. The DESERVE Van serves Carroll County Veterans, providing free transportation to and from their healthcare appointments. We received a grant from the Trinka Davis Foundation and purchased a van that we had retooled to be double wheelchair accessible. We have served hundreds of local veterans throughout the years. The van runs 5 days a week and on weekends in the case of holiday closings for our dialysis patients. It has been one of our greatest honors to serve our local veterans with this service. All DESERVE drivers are volunteers and the community has rallied around this work in amazing ways by partnering with us to serve our local heroes in ways that we don’t usually have the capacity to offer.
In 2014, after working out of the foyer area of HOPE Center since our inception, we were able to move the administrative services to what we call our “offices.” It is actually a small house that sits directly across the street from HOPE Center, making it very convenient for our clients to get to their case management appointments. We have been in this building ever since.
Also, in 2014 we were able to hire our first full time employee as Community and Development Director. This position has been worth its weight in gold providing grant writing and bookkeeping/records assistance for the organization. We also hired our first night supervisor for HOPE Center.
In 2017 we hired our first part time employee as an in-house case manager and utilized the local University of West GA to provide interns to help in administrative areas.
In 2021 we hired our 2nd part time employee as an additional case manager for the men of HOPE Center.
In 2022 we began operating a Warming Center utilizing whatever facility we could find to help the homeless when the temperatures dropped below freezing. This work was manned by volunteers from the community.
In 2023 we purchased our first property to establish a permanent Emergency Warming Center. It was an abandoned building that had to be completely renovated from the foundation up. Several business owners and leaders in the community rallied around us and raised $250K dollars to purchase and renovate the property. It took nearly a year to get the work done. We opened for overnight stays in February of 2024. We provide a warm dinner, breakfast and a bag lunch to each client staying in the shelter. We operate with a paid Case Manager and Shelter Manager and a ton of volunteers.
In 2024 we hired the Case Manager for the Emergency Shelter and an additional Case Manager for the men of HOPE Center.
In 2025 we hired a manager for the Emergency Shelter.
We have provided thousands of nights of shelter for the homeless in our community over the years. Our goal is to save lives. We have received multiple moving testimonies that we’ve done that. It is the hardest thing we’ve ever loved doing.
As we look to the future, we find it necessary to consider how we fit into solving the “housing” issues we face in West GA. There just is not sustainable housing for the unemployed, underemployed and homeless populations in our area.
We are not sure what the future holds but we do know we want to meet the needs of the most vulnerable and at-risk in our community.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I can’t say it has been a smooth road. We have met obstacles all along the way, especially in the area of homelessness. There are those who don’t want to admit we have an issue, or that the homeless choose to live that way, or they are just lazy and don’t want to work and care for themselves. When we hear this we know that those who are speaking are ignorant in the area of homelessness. Homelessness is closely related to mental illness and folks find themselves homeless for a myriad of reasons: a health issue, a devastating loss such as the death of a loved one, divorce, catastrophic accident etc. All people are created in the image of God and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. The homeless live in a world of “NO” you can’t be here. “NO” you can’t do that. There will always be a few that oppose helping those who for whatever reason, cannot help them selves. We want to provide a “hand-up” to help them regain a sense of value and self worth.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Impact was created to help “fill in the cracks” of services for vulnerable populations in the West Ga area. We want to provide services that are not provided by any other organization. We stand apart from other organizations because of that. No one else is serving veterans in our area like we do. We have American Legions and orgs associated with past military service but they don’t provide the services that we do. We are the only org providing free transportation to all local veterans. We operate the only transition program for adult males and the only permanent emergency shelter for morbidly cold or hot weather in the area. Our language classes are also free to all. We are proud to serve our community in all these ways. We are especially proud to provide for our veterans and the homeless in ways no other organization in our area does. Yes, we get hassled, but it is worth it to look into the eyes of someone who hasn’t experienced kindness or respect in a long time.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
WOW: There is no way I am capable of doing what God has done with this organization over the years. So, to God be the gory. I can’t say enough about those who have come alongside us to make all the good work happen.
The Director of the City of Carrollton Housing Authority got the ball rolling back in 2005. My family who helped cofound the organization, Darrell Parsons, Dr. Tiffany Parsons and my Board: John McDaniel, Diane Nivens, Charlene League and those I call my “Dream Team”; the men who helped us raise the funds to purchase and renovate the property used as the Emergency Warming Center. There are literally hundreds of volunteers and local businesses such as Southwire, Pilgrims Pride, 3:16 Health, Tanner Medical, GA Power, the Community Foundation of West GA, Trinka Davis,
Carrollton Kiwanis, the Lions Clubs, Carrollton Rotary and multiple local churches. I know I am leaving someone or some organization out. Support has been amazing from the community at large.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.impactwestga.org
- Facebook: Impact West GA
Image Credits
We took the photo No credit necessary.
