Must Ministries

Housing Programs: MUST housing programs support clients in five core areas, addressing homelessness and those at risk of becoming homeless. These areas include housing, clinic/health, food, workforce development and clothing: (1) the MUST Hope House emergency shelter provides shelter for men, women and families with children who are experiencing homelessness; (2) MUST's Permanent Supportive Housing program provides longer-term, stable housing for those who are disabled and chronically homeless, including veterans; (3) MUST's Tenant Based Rental Assistance program provides temporary housing assistance to families who are experiencing homelessness; and (4) MUST's Rapid Re-Housing Program provides short-term rental assistance and services.MUST's Hope House emergency shelter is a facility that provides temporary housing for the homeless. It does not require occupants to sign leases or occupancy agreements. Hope House plays a critical role in ending homelessness and offers immediate and low-barrier access to anyone facing a housing crisis. MUST provided shelter to 1,547 people with 68,806 bed nights and served an additional 1167 homeless outreach clients with food and supportive services during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024. The shelter offers a 30-day stay and connects clients to resources like career-building opportunities and case management which assist in creating a Housing Stability Plans and facilitate meaningful progress toward self-sufficiency. In addition, clients received appropriate referrals to services for mental and physical health, substance abuse and domestic violence.The MUST Permanent Supportive Housing program, which provides financial assistance for rent and utilities, served 204 individuals with 54,015 bed nights in long-term, stable housing; this program includes case management that facilitates medical assistance, education (GED Program), employment services, and more. These services were rendered in Cobb, Cherokee and Paulding counties to help individuals, including veterans, move toward financial stability and self-sufficiency.The MUST Tenant Based Rental Assistance program provides financial support to make up the difference between the amount a household can afford to pay for housing and the local rent standards in Cobb County.The MUST Rapid Re-Housing program helps stay housed, helps them obtain housing quickly and increases self-sufficiency. This program successfully houses clients in Cobb, Cherokee, Bartow, Douglas, Paulding and Pickens counties. Of the 283 clients served in the Tenant Based Rental Assistance and Rapid Re-Housing programs, more than 90% were stably housed upon completion of the program

Neighborhood Pantry: The MUST Neighborhood Pantry is a collaborative effort with public schools and churches to serve children and families in crisis. The greatest challenge our client families have in receiving assistance from existing food pantries is transportation. Many low-income families do not have vehicles, nor practical access to public transportation. As many as 65% of our client families have trouble making it to our existing school pantries to pick up their groceries.The program operates in 20 pantries (19 schools and 1 church) operating in Cobb and Cherokee counties. Each school pantry serves a cluster of nearby schools, resulting in service to students in 100 schools. Once a month, including summer months, these families come to their school pantry to select food, toiletries, meats and fresh produce for their family. The students are identified by a liaison who is either a school social worker, a guidance counselor or an academic coach. They are the students who are most at risk of hunger: homeless children and families, households with children that have been abandoned by their parents, families with life-altering illnesses, families with recent unemployment and the working poor.This program serves more than 400 at-risk students and families in a typical month. During the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, more than 6,100 clients were served over 238,000 pounds of food and toiletries; more than 3,000 of those clients were children.Mobile Pantry: The MUST Mobile program delivers healthy food to people in low-income neighborhoods who are challenged by difficulties with poverty, unemployment and lack of transportation. Serving clients in a more mobile way than our Neighborhood Pantry, our MUST Mobile program delivers food to 13 locations across 4 metropolitan counties monthly, meeting the needs of our community right where they live and eliminating transportation barriers. This program delivers fresh, healthy food in low-income neighborhoods and food deserts. Locations include schools, the VA Clinic, churches, apartment complexes, extended stays, etc. - anywhere that people need help.The greatest challenge client families have in receiving assistance from existing food pantries is transportation; many low-income families do not have vehicles, nor practical access to public transportation. As many as 65% of our client families have trouble making it to our existing 20 Neighborhood Pantry locations to pick up their groceries.The MUST Mobile program improves the health and overall quality of life for families who are struggling to feed their families. When food is brought to an area closer to low-income neighborhoods, it eliminates transportation challenges as well as minimizes the commute and gas use. It also frees up grocery money that can be spent on other essential items such as shelter, utilities or other bills. This program is most helpful to the families under the greatest stress in food deserts.During the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, a total of 17,158 clients received more than one million pounds of food; toiletries were also distributed.

Client Services: MUST's Client Services locations provide food, housing assistance, workforce development, entrepreneurial training, clothing, hygiene products, diapers, linens, case management, adult healthcare, government assistance applications, adult insurance access, computer training and other financial assistance services to individuals and families with little to no income. With the help of thousands of volunteers, 952,608 pounds of groceries were distributed to 25,414 individuals and 133,627 clothing items were given (free of charge) to 9,401 individuals. MUST helped 1,901 individuals through training opportunities, including job readiness and industry-specific training. As a result of our workforce development program, 801 individuals obtained employment resulting in more than $28.5 million in personal income annually.Seasonal Programs and Community Outreach: MUST's Community Outreach programs provide supplemental food and holiday assistance for individuals and families in need. MUST's Summer Lunch program delivers breakfast and lunch items each weekday during summer break to at-risk, school-aged children who receive free or reduced lunches during the school year, as well as their younger siblings. Partnering with community churches and organizations, 505,700 meals were delivered to 7,713 children across 8 counties. MUST's Toy Shop provided Christmas gifts (including blankets, hats, scarves, gloves, pajamas, school supplies and toys) to 6,036 children from three counties and MUST's holiday program provided 460 families with holiday meals complete with a gift card for a ham or turkey and all the accompanying holiday food items needed for a traditional celebration. MUST also expanded services in its Senior Smiles program beyond food to hygiene products and other senior-centric personal care items; this program served 277 seniors monthly.

Clinic: Through a third-party provider, MUST Ministries facilitates both primary and behavioral health services that are 'free of charge' to clients in need of healthcare. MUST provides behavioral health service, including support groups and counseling in the Hope House emergency shelter accessible to all shelter clients. MUST also provides behavioral health services to Permanent Supportive Housing clients in Cobb and Cherokee counties. In addition, MUST provides primary care services through a mobile medical unit twice per month in Marietta and once per month in Smyrna; these services are available to anyone in need.MarketPlace: MUST MarketPlace opened in 2014 as an additional way to serve our neighbors in need. On November 1, 2023, the MUST MarketPlace moved to a new location at 4651 Woodstock Road in Roswell, Ga. This new 7,500 square foot retail location is twice the size of the previous site. MUST MarketPlace offers a full retail experience for the general public with many departments anchored by the clothing other departments include designer jewelry, home decorations, seasonal goods, and furniture. There is also a donation drop off" service at this location. All profits and donations from this program directly benefit MUST Ministries' other client focused programs.

MUST's Community Outreach programs provide supplemental food and holiday assistance for individuals and families in need. MUST's Summer Lunch program delivers breakfast and lunch items each weekday during summer break to at-risk, school-aged children who receive free or reduced lunches during the school year, as well as their younger siblings. Partnering with community churches and organizations, 505,700 meals were delivered to 7,713 children across 8 counties. MUST's Toy Shop provided Christmas gifts (including blankets, hats, scarves, gloves, pajamas, school supplies and toys) to 6,036 children from three counties and MUST's holiday program provided 460 families with holiday meals complete with a gift card for a ham or turkey and all the accompanying holiday food items needed for a traditional celebration. MUST also expanded services in its Senior Smiles program beyond food to hygiene products and other senior-centric personal care items; this program served 277 seniors monthly.

The MUST Mobile program delivers healthy food to people in low-income neighborhoods who are challenged by difficulties with poverty, unemployment and lack of transportation. Serving clients in a more mobile way than our Neighborhood Pantry, our MUST Mobile program delivers food to 13 locations across 4 metropolitan counties monthly, meeting the needs of our community right where they live and eliminating transportation barriers. This program delivers fresh, healthy food in low-income neighborhoods and food deserts. Locations include schools, the VA Clinic, churches, apartment complexes, extended stays, etc. - anywhere that people need help.The greatest challenge client families have in receiving assistance from existing food pantries is transportation; many low-income families do not have vehicles, nor practical access to public transportation. As many as 65% of our client families have trouble making it to our existing 20 Neighborhood Pantry locations to pick up their groceries.The MUST Mobile program improves the health and overall quality of life for families who are struggling to feed their families. When food is brought to an area closer to low-income neighborhoods, it eliminates transportation challenges as well as minimizes the commute and gas use. It also frees up grocery money that can be spent on other essential items such as shelter, utilities or other bills. This program is most helpful to the families under the greatest stress in food deserts.During the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024, a total of 17,158 clients received more than one million pounds of food; toiletries were also distributed.

Through a third-party provider, MUST Ministries facilitates both primary and behavioral health services that are 'free of charge' to clients in need of healthcare. MUST provides behavioral health service, including support groups and counseling in the Hope House emergency shelter accessible to all shelter clients. MUST also provides behavioral health services to Permanent Supportive Housing clients in Cobb and Cherokee counties. In addition, MUST provides primary care services through a mobile medical unit twice per month in Marietta and once per month in Smyrna; these services are available to anyone in need.