House of Dawn Inc

The mission of the House of Dawn is to 1) provide a stable, loving, home for young mothers and their children under adult supervision and 2) to provide young mothers with the educational opportunities and the life training skills that they will need to become independent, self-supporting women.

The House of Dawn (HOD) provides residential and supportive services to pregnant and parenting young mothers and their children. The goal of all HOD program services and activities is to reverse the negative consequences of teen pregnancy, reduce repeat pregnancies, poverty, low educational and academic performance and dependency on welfare, re-build self-esteem, enhance proper health and nutrition, reduce abuse, neglect, family violence and promote family reunification.

The House of Dawn, Inc. (HOD) was founded in 2000 by Dawn Leneice Murray, who was at the time a Parenting Education Instructor and Home Visitor for the Clayton County Extension Services. Ms. Murray worked with pregnant and parenting teen mothers in many different ways in the Clayton County community. She often encountered teen mothers in need of a safe haven for themselves as well as their children. Ms. Murray saw what a need there was for a Second Chance Home in the Clayton County Community and stepped up to the plate to make her dream a reality thus the House of Dawn Second Chance Home for teenage mothers and their children was born. In 2004 House of Dawn became part of the G-CAPP (Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention) network for Second Chance Homes and became the ninth Second Chance Home in the State of Georgia. Over the years Ms. Murray has formed collaborations with a long list of other agencies in the community and has been very successful in obtaining strong community support.