HELPATHENS:

The New Text Alert System to Connect With Your Athens Neighbors

By Pablo Ashi

HELPATHENS 898-211 is a new text alert system for free Athens events & resources. A partnership between United Way of Northeast Georgia, the Athens Homeless Coalition, and Continuum of Care, it aims to serve neighbors in need, allowing subscribers to receive weekly updates and connect to direct support. Pablo Ashi, TBP/ATH’s Co-Director of Community Engagement, helped launch this system, and writes about its origin and the importance of students getting involved in the Athens community.

As college students, it can be easy to feel like we’re living in a bubble, absorbed in the balance of academics and social life. My first Saturday Meals helped pop that bubble, opening my eyes to Athens beyond campus.

Our neighbors experiencing homelessness operate in a harsh reality, challenged by a lack of resources, coordinated infrastructure, and access to information. In ACC, these individuals often rely on word of mouth, street outreach, and personal networks to learn about available services. While broader referral systems exist, navigating them can be difficult without consistent access to internet or clear guidance. As a result, information gaps, rather than a lack of services alone, present a major barrier to care.

Saturday Meal deliveries gave me insight into this issue, where conversations with neighbors highlighted struggles to stay informed. This motivated collaborative efforts with the Continuum of Care (CoC) to create a system that would allow clients to receive updated information in a timely, convenient manner. The CoC comprises inspiring community leaders, service providers, and agencies working selflessly to address homelessness. I had the privilege to conduct research with the Arch Policy Institute, and present potential solutions to the CoC that eventually became the HELPATHENS system. This initiative reinforces what already works to support the ongoing, remarkable efforts of the CoC, simply providing a tool to expand reach.

By connecting with our neighbors, TBP has shown me that students have a real role to play. While we can’t solve homelessness alone, we can support the systems and leaders already doing the work. I’m constantly inspired by the passion individuals have shown for this place I call home for four years; Athens is a community worth meeting, learning from, and serving in meaningful ways.