BeLoved opened its first residential home in 2013 serving four residents. We took the next three years to ensure we were running a successful program and meeting all the needs of BeLoved residents. In 2017, we built a second residential home increasing our capacity to seven residents. In April of 2018, we opened our third residential home allowing BeLoved to serve ten residents at one time.

Our program consists of the following phases:

Restoration. Basic needs are met as each woman has the opportunity to heal from past trauma. This phase includes individual counseling, group therapy, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, case management, legal and medical needs.

Education. Educational goals are established and pursued with the assistance of one of our case managers. We believe a woman’s chance of success will increase if she is pursuing a career of her choice. Each resident must obtain their GED and then has the opportunity to pursue higher education, work readiness training, or an internship.

Employment. Employment is an essential part of the recovery process as a woman must become self-sufficient to experience long term success without relapse. BeLoved works with community partners to ensure each woman has a full-time, living wage job with three months of living expenses saved before graduating. We also offer a matching savings program up to $1,000.

Impact

BeLoved is built around Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. We have always believed basic needs must be met before a woman is able to begin working through past trauma and addiction. In a world where COVID has been introduced this is even more true. By providing funding, Legacy Collective is creating the foundation for healing and forward movement. This funding will provide the additional basic needs required for each resident (currently 7 residents) including housing, food, transportation, and household items as their stays have been elongated due to the effects of Covid on their recovery journey timeline. Additionally, this grant supports solving the issues of systemic racism in regards to racism & commercial sexual exploitation, as the majority of our residents are Black females.

The anticipated outcome of this grant is creating an environment where each resident is able to fully step into who she was created to be. She is able to set her own goals, decide what she is passionate about, free herself from addiction, and show the world all she has to offer.

As BeLoved strives to continually strengthen our program, we work to evaluate the program through qualitative and quantitative data. Below are key data points BeLoved staff records and tracks:
- Resident goals
- Behavioral therapy skills
- Participation in program activities
- Sobriety

Residents also complete anonymous surveys to show what is working well and any gaps in the program. Over the last eight years, BeLoved has built a program we fully believe in and we are continuing to challenge ourselves to better the program but most importantly we listen to the voices of the residents. We believe they should have the loudest voice in their recovery; while we are here to assist, they are the experts.

Below is a paragraph written by a BeLoved resident on the importance of the long-term care provided through the Residential and Restoration programs at BeLoved Atlanta –

“Financial hardship is a primary factor in a woman’s decision to reenter the game. In my opinion it takes tremendous courage and faith to make the decision to exit “the game” and once that decision is made I believe it is critical for the individual to find support immediately. Because this journey is so difficult and the work is hard, it is easy to return to old ways. Not because you want to but because it is familiar and easy.

For this reason, formal services, including professional residential treatment, safe housing, and individual and group counseling are particularly important during the initial exit phase. I believe that the most crucial formal service that can be offered is a residential program. It is almost impossible to change your life and circumstances while still living in your current situation. I know that if I was still living in that situation I probably would have changed my mind.”