A LIFETIME of SERVICE


Kathy Swahn charts the course for The Drake House to help mothers children in North Fulton.


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By CANDY WAYLOCK candy@northsidewoman.com


Today, she serves as the executive director of the organization, which works to provide short-term housing and sustainable life skills for mothers and their children in the North Fulton area.


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Last year nearly 3,000 people attended the 8th annual Miss Mary's Ice Cream Crankin event, which is a major fundraiser for The Drake House. This year's event is scheduled for Aug. 26 from 2-4 p.m. in the Roswell Square. For more information visit missmarysicecream.org.


About The Drake House • The Drake House mission is to provide short-term crisis housing, assessment, support and empowerment to homeless mothers and their children in the North Fulton area. • The Drake House offers residential housing and in-depth assessments to approximately 40-50 families a year. Each family stays 90-120 days. • Women and children entering the Drake House


are offered a variety of support to move them toward self-sufficiency. Residents participate in a goal-setting process and an empowerment plan. Life skills classes are conducted on topics such as job readiness, personal finances, parenting skills and health and wellness.


How You Can Help • Donation management, pantry sorting and stocking, general office work, supply shopping, special event assistance and support for family service professionals. • Serving as mentor/advocates to encourage and support a mother or child as they move through the empowerment program. Additionally, occasional childcare is needed for young children during the day while moms are in meetings or workshops. • Assistance with receiving donations, sorting and displaying of clothing, customer service and/or sales at the Drake Closet women’s resale boutique.


10 | northsidewoman.com | july2012 Nearly a decade ago, even before the


economic crisis hit the area with a powerful punch, local leaders recognized the need for emergency housing for the growing number of homeless mothers and their children in the community. While some facilities offered such services, none were located in this area. With the economy in freefall the last several years, the need has grown even greater, said Swahn. “[North Fulton] is perceived as a very


affluent area, but we do have a high level of need, which has continued to grow,” said Swahn, who became Drake House director in 2011. “Our goal is to help women and their children who are on the brink of homelessness remain in their original community.” Swahn was instrumental in the creation of the Drake House. She was a member of the Leadership North Fulton class of 2004, whose goal was to find a solution for a concern in the local community. At the time, Swahn was the director of development for North Fulton Community


Charities and knew firsthand the need for a program to help mothers and See 'SHE'RO, Page 30


athy Swahn has been a key part of the Drake House in Roswell since it was just an idea on a drawing board.


children with short-term housing. “There was this overwhelming need for help to keep these families in the community and not send them to places downtown where they would have to wait in line for help, hope to have a place to sleep that night, and where they might be separated from their teenage children,” said Swahn, who worked for NFCC from 2002-2007. “We needed a program to fill those needs here in our own community.” After developing a solid business model,


the Leadership class found support through the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce and various business and civic organizations. Soon, a 16-unit apartment complex in Roswell was purchased to house families. In 2005, the Drake House was officially chartered as a nonprofit organization, located on Clara Street near downtown Roswell. In 2006, it welcomed its first resident family. The grand opening was bittersweet, said Swahn. “We named the agency in honor of Mary


Drake, who founded North Fulton Community Charities, and she passed away just months before we opened our doors,” said Swahn. Swahn has served on the Drake House


Board of Directors since the agency’s founding. The transition last year from advisor to director was a relatively easy one for a person who has spent much of her life in a volunteer role making things happen.


A graduate of the University of Georgia, Swahn spent several years in marketing before becoming a stay-at-home mom to two


unsung‘she’ro


KELLY BROOKS


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