Gateway Cottage Residential Program provides a home for healing and hope for the future. It is a residential facility for homeless mothers in substance abuse recovery and their minor children. Participating mothers must be residents of Georgia who are drug-free and motivated to change so that their lives and the lives of their children will be better. The Gateway Cottage Residential program lasts between 12 and 24 months, with an average stay of 14 months. Family values are instilled and nurtured, and mothers are taught constructive life skills, social skills, parenting skills and relapse strategies. When a resident leaves the program, she will be better equipped to live independently and make positive life choices and decisions for herself and her children.

Hodac understands that families need further support and guidance upon completion of the Gateway Residential Program. An aftercare program and parenting skills training are offered to residents making the transition to independent living.

Further Clarification

Homelessness- Gateway Cottage is funded to provide services for homeless mothers. This means our auditors look for documentation verifying homelessness.  Verification must be from an agency or organization (DFCS, church, shelter, probation officer) on the agency’s letterhead. It must state the person is currently or soon to be homeless. Letters from landlords indicating eviction will verify homelessness, letters from family members will not. Again, the letter writer must state that the person is or is soon to be homeless; merely stating the prospective client said she was homeless will not satisfy our funder’s criteria nor will statements indicating if the client continues drug use, she will be homeless. We must have written verification of homelessness prior to interviewing a prospective client.  Please fill out consent for release of information included in this packet to allow us to communicate with the agency verifying homelessness.

Reunification- For mothers working with DFCS who are looking to reunite with their children, Gateway Cottage’s goal is for reunification within six months of admission. Though exceptions may be made, Gateway Cottage wants to avoid housing mothers without their children for long periods of time with no guarantees that there will be reunification.

NOTE: We take our role as a custodial supervisor for early reunification very seriously. This means we are going to make sure clients take responsibility for their addictions before we advocate for reunification. Hodac can detect when clients try to work them or work the system.  Children need mothers who are drug free and who are motivated to get better.

Chemical Dependency- Applicants to Gateway Cottage must be chemically dependent. This is verified both by self report and standardized testing during the interview that consists of The Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (The SASSI) and the Maryland Addictions Questionnaire (MAQ).