Our History
Serving Others Since 1996
The Good Neighbor Homeless Shelter received its first guests on Friday, February 2, 1996 on the night of the year’s first ice storm. Housed in a temporary location on Church Street (across from the back of the new Bartow County Courthouse), the shelter had only 12 beds, including a very cramped family room. The quarters may have been cramped but the twelve persons who filled it the first weekend it was open were grateful for refuge from the storm. Bartow County Commissioner, Clarence Brown, allowed the shelter use of this county owned building rent-free while the Board of Directors searched for a permanent location.
From the very beginning, the shelter accepted men, women, and families, but was only open from 5 pm until 7 am. The shelter was staffed entirely with volunteers who came at either 5 when the shelter opened to check in guests and serve dinner or at 9 pm to spend the night.
In September 1996, the Board of Directors secured a new location at 110 Porter St, which needed a number of renovations before it could house the shelter. The chief attractions of this building were that it could be remodeled to provide more beds (15) and was located on a triple lot. The Board hoped that one day funding would be available to add or expand to the building, increasing our capacity and mission.
In the fall of 2000, representatives from a private foundation approached the Board of Directors with a proposal. If the Good Neighbor agreed to become a 24-hour facility, the foundation would build a new facility on the Porter St. property to relieve crowding and provide adequate meeting, storage, office space and parking. The Board of Directors agreed and an adjacent lot was purchased to provide adequate space for the facility and yard.
Construction began in the spring of 2001 and the new facility was completed that fall. The 4600 square foot building was occupied in November, after which the old shelter was razed to make room for parking. The new facility has a 20-bed capacity with 2 men’s dorm rooms, 2 women’s dorm rooms, Extended Housing rooms, and a family room. The facility is open and staffed 24 hours a day.
Financial support has always come from throughout the community as more people become aware of the shelter. In 1997, the Shelter was privileged to become a United Way agency and remains an integral part of United Way’s mission. Churches, individuals, civic clubs and organizations that want to have an impact on homelessness provide financial support. Private foundation and government grants are also a part of the shelter’s budget.
In 2006, the shelter launched a website to bring more information to the public about our ministry. In 2007, the website was enabled to take online donations, a definite plus for our fundraising efforts.
The shelter raises a significant portion of its budget through fundraisers. Events such as Our Hearts, Their Harbor (a dinner/auction), the Home for the Holidays concerts, and the Georgia Barbecue Classic, have provided about a third of the organization’s annual revenues.
