America’s newest – and perhaps most thoughtfully-designed – homeless shelter is complete. The 43,556-square-foot MUST Hope House in Marietta, Georgia was designed and built through the input of MUST Ministries staff, volunteers and clients. 

Thanks to a successful capital campaign and an ambitious vision, the MUST team planned a new, 43,556-square-foot shelter with specific needs of clients at the forefront, making MUST one of the first organizations in the country to do so. The nonprofit more than doubled the number of people it is able to shelter and serve.  
“In all of MUST Ministries’ 50 years of service to those experiencing poverty, we have never seen a greater need for our help than we are seeing now,” said MUST President and CEO Ike Reighard. “In just two years, we have gone from serving 33,000 people a year to likely close to 60,000 people this year. The MUST Hope House not only gives those families a place to sleep, but also provides them with a sense of dignity and respect.”  

The MUST Hope House is not far from its predecessor, just off of Bells Ferry Road near U.S. 41 in Marietta. The impressive, two-story shelter has 136 beds plus 36 respite beds for inclement weather, a chapel, dining hall, kitchen, rooftop family retreat, playground area, satellite medical clinic, onsite clothing boutique. Ten large family rooms with a private bath in each, laundry rooms, a learning center for children, workforce development service areas with a computer lab and a myriad of other amenities are also featured. The shelter provides outreach service areas, such as case management, restrooms, showers and job assistance for those who come to the shelter for temporary help but are not housed at the shelter. 
“It’s amazing to think of how many lives will be changed at the MUST Hope House for many years to come,” Reighard said. “From providing shelter to feeding our children to helping with job placement, the whole mission behind MUST Ministries is to provide hope. With this new facility built specifically with our clients’ needs in mind, we know that the MUST Hope House will do just that.” 
ABOUT MUST: MUST Ministries is celebrating 50 years of serving those in poverty. MUST meets the needs of nearly 46,000 people a year through food, housing, healthcare, workforce development, clothing and other programs.