ANNUAL REPORT
Who We Are
City of Refuge walks alongside individuals and families, meeting real needs, restoring hope, and creating meaningful change that lasts.
The Challenging Path Forward
If a person is born into poverty in Atlanta, there is just a 4% chance of escaping poverty in their lifetime.
Residents of Atlanta’s Westside face deep and persistent socioeconomic barriers that make upward mobility difficult and often unattainable. Generational poverty creates ongoing physical and emotional strain, limits access to basic necessities, and leaves many children without the stability they need to thrive. For those born into poverty here, the likelihood of escaping it remains as low as four percent, underscoring the complexity of the challenge and the need for sustained, compassionate solutions.
A Message From Bruce Deel
How We Walk Alongside Others
Utilizing a one-stop shop approach, City of Refuge empowers individuals and families to overcome crisis, build momentum, and achieve their full potential.
We offer men, women, and children access to the highest quality temporary housing, along with a clear path to safe, permanent, and affordable housing, helping them regain stability and thrive.
Job Training
We provide individuals with job training, mentorship, soft skills, and placement services, helping them build meaningful careers and a brighter future for their families.
Housing
Our campus delivers a full spectrum of essential health services, addressing physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being, empowering individuals to live balanced and healthy lives.
Youth Development
We offer year-round education, care, and enrichment for children from birth through 12th grade in a safe and nurturing environment where they can learn, grow, and succeed.
Health & Wellness
Anna’s Story
From Survival to Safety
For most of her life, Anna lived in survival mode.
She carried deep trauma from childhood into adulthood, shaped by abuse, instability, and years of feeling like something was wrong with her. Without knowing she was autistic, everyday life felt overwhelming. School was difficult. Relationships were dangerous. Eventually, a marriage became unsafe, and Anna fled with her two children, moving between shelters, temporary housing, and nights spent waiting outside full facilities in the cold.
“I honestly thought we were going to die homeless,” she remembers.
When Anna was referred to City of Refuge, she expected another rejection. Instead, she and her children were welcomed. Safety came first. Then stability. Then care.
At City of Refuge, Anna received access to therapy and medical support that had long been out of reach. She was diagnosed with anxiety, PTSD, major depression, and autism, answers that helped her finally understand her life. Her son was also diagnosed, opening the door for support for both of them. As survival loosened its grip, healing began.
With her mental health supported, Anna began rebuilding her future. She worked toward her GED and enrolled in the Tech Academy’s cybersecurity program, an opportunity she had been waiting for. Despite never finishing high school, Anna has become one of the top students in her class, thriving in the Tech Academy and transforming a lifelong passion for computers into a viable career path.
Her children returned to school after a year without consistent education. They now receive medical care, counseling, and stability tailored to their needs. “When I wasn’t in survival mode anymore,” Anna says, “I could finally start figuring things out.”
Today, Anna is still healing, but she is no longer hopeless. She and her children are safe, supported, and moving forward together, with a future that finally feels within reach.
Anna’s story reflects what can happen when survival gives way to stability and care. With consistent support and space to heal, she is rebuilding confidence, reclaiming her voice, and moving toward a future she once could not imagine.
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Meet MJ and Elijah's Story
Finding Direction Together
Elijah did not come to City of Refuge looking for a second chance. He came looking for a real one.
At 21, he knew what it felt like to reach the end of a road and realize it could not continue the same way. Recently released from jail, he was clear about what he did not want. He did not want to repeat old patterns or return to the life he had been living. What he wanted was stability, real work, and a legitimate path forward. City of Refuge offered structure, housing, and the chance to build something tangible through hands-on work. For Elijah, it felt like a place where effort could finally lead somewhere.
At the same time, MJ was also searching for solid ground. At 25, he had spent years moving across state lines chasing job opportunities that never quite delivered the stability he hoped for. Each move carried optimism, but also uncertainty. Eventually, encouragement from his aunt, who had previously completed a City of Refuge program, pushed him to take a different kind of risk. He arrived with little more than determination and hope, enrolling in the automotive program and committing to see it through, even when that meant waiting with limited resources and no clear backup plan.
Their paths crossed in the auto technician program, where Elijah and MJ quickly discovered common ground. What began as shared coursework and time in the shop grew into a deeper bond. They became roommates, study partners, and accountability anchors for one another. Cars gave them something practical to focus on, but it was their shared desire for a different life that truly connected them.
Neither man describes the program as an overnight transformation. Growth came through discipline, learning to show up on time, follow routines, and stay focused day after day. They learned the quiet power of consistency, choosing commitment even when motivation wavered. In moments of doubt, they leaned on one another, studying late, solving problems together, and reminding each other why they started.
For MJ, something shifted as he became rooted in the community. Surrounded by structure, encouragement, and accountability, the future stopped feeling abstract. Stability no longer seemed like a distant idea but something tangible and attainable. For Elijah, graduation marked a deeply personal milestone. “There were plenty of times I could have stopped,” he reflects. “But I did not. Finishing showed me I could follow through.”
Today, both Elijah and MJ are certified and employed full time in steady jobs. They still share an apartment, a living picture of the stability and responsibility they have built together. Their story is
not one of sudden rescue, but of steady progress, shaped by opportunity, mentorship, and hard
earned determination.
Their journey reflects what happens when someone is given the space, support, and structure to choose a different direction. Step by step, dignity is restored, purpose is rebuilt, and a future once out of reach begins to take shape.
Stephanie’s Story
No Longer Walking Alone
Impact Metrics
2025
Our Board
