Circle of Hope

Resources for domestic violence were scarce in North Georgia before Circle of Hope was founded in 1987 as a grassroots effort to establish a 24-hour hotline and a support group.

Volunteers spent two years remodeling a donated farmhouse, and the Emergency Shelter Program opened in 1990. Fifteen years later, Circle of Hope constructed a new shelter facility, increasing its 10-bed shelter capacity to sleep up to 24 adults and children. A Legal Advocacy Program was developed in 1997 and expanded in 2002 to assist victims navigating the criminal justice system.

Based in Demorest, the outreach office has grown to offer a variety of services to cover Habersham, White and Stephens counties: housing assistance; individual and group counseling; life skills and parenting classes; and advocacy for temporary protective orders, child support and access to government entitlements.

“Many of our clients are having to start over and face daunting expenses that include first month’s rent and security deposits,” says Executive Director Suzanne Dow. “We help with all of that.”

The organization, with 28 employees, including a bilingual advocate, serves 1,374 survivors a year and fields at least 1,200 crisis calls on its hotline. It welcomes all adults and children regardless of gender.

“It’s a myth that only women are abused,” says Dow. “We help men, too, and anyone who is being affected by domestic violence.”

Two popular thrift stores support the operation. “Our clients get clothes and furniture and whatever they need for free, and sales support what we do,” Dow says.

Circle of Hope also takes its message of violence prevention into schools, with education programs spanning pre-K to college.

“We do what we can to help people break that cycle and successfully establish their independence,” says Dow.

gacircleofhope.org