Facing eviction: who to call first

AVLF is a nonprofit that gives free legal help to qualified people in Atlanta. It helps with evictions and landlord problems, protective orders after abuse, and some family law cases. Help starts with a phone call to the intake line.

Curator’s note: Free lawyers for Atlanta tenants facing eviction. Call their intake line as soon as you get court papers.

Atlanta Legal Aid Society gives free help with civil legal problems to people who cannot afford a lawyer. This is the Fulton County downtown headquarters office. They help with things like housing, debt, family and domestic violence issues, disability and health rights, and help for seniors and veterans.

Curator’s note: Free legal help with housing for people who cannot afford a lawyer. This is the Fulton County office downtown.

Georgia Legal Services Program is a nonprofit law firm. It gives free civil legal help to Georgians with low incomes who live outside metro Atlanta, in 154 of the state's 159 counties. It does not represent people who live in Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton or Gwinnett counties.

Curator’s note: Free legal help with eviction if you live in Georgia outside Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties.

Midtown Assistance Center helps low-income working people in 14 Atlanta ZIP codes stay housed and fed. It offers a choose-your-own food pantry, help with rent and utility bills, work clothes, and MARTA passes for job seekers and new workers. You need an appointment, and you start with an online form or the assistance phone line.

Curator’s note: Emergency rent and utility help for working households who live in its Midtown and Downtown zip codes. You need an appointment.

Hosea Helps is an Atlanta nonprofit that has served the community since 1971. At its Forrest Hills Drive headquarters, families can get free emergency groceries and help applying for food stamps. Staff also check whether a household can get help with rent, utilities and other costs. It also runs job help, programs for children, holiday meal events and deliveries to apartment communities and schools.

Curator’s note: Screens people for help with rent and utility bills, and gives free emergency groceries at its Care Center.

Gateway Center is a homeless service center at 275 Pryor Street SW in downtown Atlanta. It runs shelter and housing programs, a drop-in Engagement Center, a place to start a housing assessment, street outreach, and job and recovery help. Many programs are for men, and families can use the Engagement Center and housing assessments.

Curator’s note: A service center downtown for people who are homeless. Staff help with finding shelter and housing, and there are showers and clothing.

Atlanta Mission runs shelters in Atlanta for people who have no home. My Sister's House is its overnight shelter for women and children, with meals, counseling, childcare, classes and job training. Women and children start at Restoration House, where staff screen them before they can stay.

Curator’s note: Overnight shelter. My Sister's House takes women and children, and The Shepherd's Inn takes men. Call before you go.

Nicholas House helps families with children who have no home or are about to lose one. It runs the Boulevard Shelter in Atlanta and apartment programs that help pay rent while parents build income. It also offers rent and utility help to keep families from being evicted.

Curator’s note: Shelter and apartments for families with children. You cannot walk in. Families are placed through the city's shared intake system, called coordinated entry.

The Atlanta Community Food Bank runs Community Food Centers. These are food pantries where families pick out groceries by appointment. The Marietta center is at 1605 Austell Road. Staff also help people apply for SNAP, Medicaid and WIC, and a text line helps you find other pantries.

Curator’s note: Use their pantry finder to get free groceries near you.