A warm bed. A hot meal. A caseworker who remembers your name.
Every winter, Rebecca's Tent gives women experiencing homelessness a safe place to live, eat, find community, and rebuild. We support them as they work towards stable employment and housing. We've done it for more than forty years, as the first shelter in America housed in a synagogue.
Many of the women have jobs.
None of them can afford a home.
Homelessness rarely looks the way people imagine.
The women who stay with us are sober, and often employed. They're here because a medical crisis, an eviction, or an abusive relationship collided with Atlanta rents that their paychecks can't cover.
They don't need a lecture. They want a warm bed, a hot dinner, a supportive community, and a place to rebuild their lives. We provide that, along with weekly case management, career and financial coaching, and support that continues.
Friendships form here. Some residents leave as roommates.
Rebecca’s Tent is the only women’s shelter in DeKalb County.
One resident's story
She was working full-time at a call center when her health suddenly failed: problems with her vision, then her walking. The doctor's appointments cost her the job. Then she lost her apartment. For more than a month, she slept in her car.
Then, in a gas-station parking lot, another homeless woman pressed a phone number into her hand:
"You can thank me later."
The phone number was ours. She found support at Rebecca's Tent, and a path back.
What does your gift do?
We're small and focused, so you know exactly what your donation does.
Rebecca's Tent is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, EIN 27-4116748. Donations are tax-deductible; you'll receive a receipt by email.
Frank and Helen Spiegel
It began on a cold winter night.
When Rabbi Marc Wilson of Congregation Shearith Israel saw women sleeping outside during a harsh winter night, he called Helen Spiegel. Helen understood what it meant to have nowhere safe to sleep: her family had escaped Germany during the Holocaust. Together, they opened the first homeless shelter in the United States housed in a synagogue. We are proud to carry their legacy forward.
Stay in the loop
Shelter news, volunteer calls, and event invitations, a few times a year.