Midtown Assistance Center financial assistance programs.
A limited portion of downtown Atlanta is supported by the Midtown Assistance Center (MAC). The non-profit partners with several other businesses and charities to help the poor and disadvantaged. They work to prevent homelessness by helping with past due rent and utilities to prevent eviction or disconnection, feed the hungry with food, and provide clothing to those looking for work.
MAC is focused on the downtown only region of the city, so they have a limited scope. Anyone seeking help needs to have significant proof of their hardship and a plan in place for self-sufficiency. Most of the financial support is focused on the Atlanta zip codes of The zip codes served are 30303, 30308, 30309, 30310, 30312, 30313, 30314, 30315, 30318, and 30363. Also, appointments and an intake process will be required by applicants.
Housing resources include emergency rent or utility bill help. While there are a number of conditions in place, and they may change, they will generally help those that are working but still struggling to pay the bills, or are recently unemployed. Low income limits are in place, and any rent help is not for apartments that are covered as part of Atlanta Housing Authority or Section 8.
The rent help is for people or families with an eviction notice from their landlord. Any utility bill help, whether electric, water, or is or for a household faced with a disconnection of their service.
As noted, the applicant needs to have a stability plan in place. This means the individual will need to be able to pay their housing expenses on their own in the future. Midtown Assistance Center will not help with a rent payment if the person will just be facing eviction again next month.
Documentation is needed, including proof of income, copy of the lease, and utility bills. So these will be some of the requirements in order to get any financial support, however more may be needed as well. However, a key requirement will be the verification that they can keep up with their housing payments on their own in the future.
The non-profit can help someone get an identification as well. The assistance they offer is for a Georgia ID only. The focus will be on serving individuals that need the identification for work related reasons, and they will always be the focus on the agency. Note, this program is not limited to zip codes and people across the city can receive help on this issue from MAC. (404) 681-5777.
Food programs are available from MAC. They will assist a household a few times per year, at most. Some of the conditions include the applicant needs to apply for SNAP food stamps for long term aid as part of the process. They also need to verify income, address, and more.
However, there may be referrals to other pantries or churches that serve meals or provide free food in the Fulton County area. So even if Midtown Assistance Center can’t satisfy your request for help, they are an effective source of referrals and other forms of support. The non-profit may have groceries, baby formula for new moms, meats, and other assistance to combat hunger. MAC will provide non-perishable food items for low income families not experiencing a temporary shortage.
They can help clients obtain a MARTA Breeze Card. Any person requesting this type of assistance needs to have employment and have not received a paycheck yet. While not as common, they may help with providing transportation to a temporary job. However this is only the case if eventual permanent placement is guaranteed.
This program for the Breeze Card is very limited. In most cases, a family in Atlanta can only use this service at most four times in a lifetime, so it is limited in scope and resources.
Clothing Assistance is for people interviewing for a job, or maybe they need items for their current place of employment. Midtown Assistance Center will provide a couple sets of clothing in some cases, depending on factors such as whether the person is working or just interviewing. In either case, verification is needed.
Most of the new or gently used clothes will be for men, however referrals may be for women as well. There may be shoes, shirts, pants, and other appropriate attire. The focus of the free clothing is for people to gain employment or go on an interview, with a focus on food services, construction, and health care industries in Fulton County.
Apply for assistance
The United Methodist Church houses the Midtown Assistance Center. The address is 613 Spring St NW, Atlanta, GA 30308, call 404-681-0470. Not only do they offer the aid above, but there may also be referrals to other churches or non-profit organizations, counseling, and applications for government benefits.
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