Emmaus House

Today, Emmaus House offers approximately 100,000 hours per year of vital programs and services to the residents of Peoplestown, serving people of all ages and directly addressing the staggering prevalence of poverty in the neighborhood. Emmaus House offers services in the following areas: assistance, education and enrichment, fellowship and communion, and service learning. In 1967, Father Austin Ford, an Episcopal Priest and advocate for civil rights, moved into a dilapidated two-story home at 1017 Hank Aaron Drive (formerly Capitol Avenue) along with two nuns and a seminary student. Father Ford purchased the home with the support of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta. Inspired by the settlement houses of the 1920s, Father Ford garnered resources to benefit Peoplestown residents and established an after-school program, once-a-month transportation to Reidsville State Prison for family members of inmates, chapel services, hot meals, and a poverty rights office. Under Father Ford’s leadership and the help of countless volunteers who supported his efforts, Emmaus House evolved into an important resource for the Peoplestown community.