On March 28, 2012, Project Interconnections celebrated the grand “re-opening” of O’Hern House.   Guest speakers included:

Honorary Chairperson, Rosalynn Carter;

Chairman of the Board, Cliff Altekruse;

Kristin Wilson, Director – Innovation Delivery Team, City of Atlanta; Michael Claeys, Executive Director, Grady Hospital Behavioral Health Services;

Jon Toppen, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Tapestry Development Group

Jean Toole, President and CEO, Community Friendship, Inc.

O’Hern House is over 100 years old and was first renovated in late 1993.  It has won two design awards and has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

This residential community, with on-site supportive services for homeless men and women who suffer from a mental illness, includes an industrial kitchen, which provides three meals a day for residents.  Community Friendship, Inc. provides these services to our residents.

O’Hern House receives its residents from hospitals and shelters, serving some of the most fragile individuals in metropolitan Atlanta.  By receiving consistent supportive services, our residents are able to maintain housing, have medications monitored and reach their own level of self sufficiency, keeping them from returning to life on the streets.

O’Hern House is certified by Earthcraft Energy Institute’s “Earthcraft Homes” program for the rehabilitation of multifamily properties with environmentally-sensitive features.  These improvements will enhance the interior air quality and dramatically decrease utility and maintenance costs by 15 to 20 percent.

Some excerpts from Mrs. Carter’s remarks:

O’Hern House is a community of friends who help when needed and requested.  Since opening it’s doors in November 1993, over 500 formerly homeless adults have been given the opportunity to participate in job training programs, receive assistance with daily living skills, receive drug counseling and most importantly, find recovery.

I was excited to show off O’Hern House to Tipper Gore during it’s initial rehabilitation in June 1993.  Mrs. Gore was in town for a NMHA event and was very interested in touring People’s Pace (as it was called at the time).

And now – we are here again today – celebrating that, thanks to funding from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, The Federal Home Loan Bank, Suntrust Bank and the Atlanta Housing Authority, we are able to rededicate this project for another 20+ years of service.

Here are some photos from this special day:

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