After over a year of couch-surfing at his younger brother’s house, Michael Glenn has his own place — a rental home in DeKalb’s Gresham Park community, where his 8-year-old son can hang out with him on the weekends.
Glenn is a disabled veteran who served in the U.S. Air Force during the 1990s. Even with his health issues, civilian life for Glenn was going great — until it wasn’t.
His marriage crumbled, and then he lost his job. And just like that, the father of five couldn’t keep up with expenses. His veteran’s benefits and paychecks from short-term contract work were enough for him to get by but not to provide for his family.
“I want to make sure my children have what they need. I’m going to still take care of them before I’m going to take care of myself,” the 51-year-old said.
Credit: Phil Skinner
Credit: Phil Skinner
In addition to his son, Glenn has four daughters — two in high school and two in college. Determined to put them first meant he sometimes slept in his car on business trips to save hotel expenses.
Unable to save enough money to live independently, Glenn got help from Open Doors, an Atlanta-based organization focused on securing housing for those exiting homelessness.
As a veteran, Glenn qualified for The Home Depot Foundation Landlords, Organizations, and Veterans Engagement (LOVE) Fund grant program to end veteran homelessness.
The program started in metro Atlanta last summer with $200,000 from Home Depot. Grants are available through a collaboration of nonprofits committed to helping veterans overcome barriers to stable housing.
Open Doors manages the program, which has approximately $300,000 after receiving another $200,000 from Home Depot for 2025.
Last year, over 46 households — about 95 people — received LOVE Fund grants, said Kim Wolfe, Open Doors deputy director and development director.
Wolfe said most of the clients had some type of blip in their financial stability, and “without the help of the LOVE Fund, these households would be facing eviction.”
Glenn received a LOVE grant of $3,500 to cover his rental home fees and down payment. Looking back on his situation, Glenn said that without this help, it would have been easy to keep spiraling downward.
“I get to see just how blessed I was that God kept me from living under a bridge,” he said. “You see how easy that is to happen. I can’t imagine the spiral of despair and loneliness.”
Credit: Phil Skinner
Credit: Phil Skinner
Veterans make up nearly 13% of the homeless adult population nationally, with more than 35,000 facing homelessness on any given night, according to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans.
Atlanta has one of the highest populations of homeless veterans, specifically single veterans, said Jennifer Yearwood, Open Doors housing support coordinator. She works with veterans who have lost their housing or are at risk of losing it.
“When they start living in survival mode, it becomes increasingly more difficult to focus and find a place that will take you because there are credit issues,” Yearwood said.
Living in a hotel or being unsheltered in a vehicle is expensive and leaves little finances for the rental application and move-in fees.
“It’s a struggle, and it hits the veteran community very hard,” Yearwood said. “We’re working as hard as we can to bring those barriers down and find multiple streams of funding to help them get and remain stably housed.”
Credit: Phil Skinner
Credit: Phil Skinner
The LOVE Fund operates in Honolulu, Los Angeles, and Chicago and was brought to Atlanta last year with the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans to test it here, said Heather Prill, director of National Programs & Strategic Partnerships for The Home Depot Foundation.
Nationally, Home Depot has invested more than $550 million in veterans’ causes since 2011, with a commitment of $750 million.
“We don’t write checks and walk away,” Prill said. “We’re always looking for how can we find solutions and how can we be innovative in this space to focus on ending veteran homelessness.”
In Atlanta, the LOVE Fund flows through member organizations of Affordable Housing Communities in Action, which include Open Doors, Atlanta Center for Self Sufficiency (ACCS), the Department of Veterans Affairs (Ft. McPherson), HOPE Atlanta, National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (NCHV), Partners for Home, Project Community Connections, Inc. (PCCI), Veterans Empowerment Organization (VEO) and The Warrior Alliance.
Credit: Phil Skinner
Credit: Phil Skinner
Yearwood regularly follows up on her Open Doors clients, ensuring they keep up with expenses and have what they need to remain housed. When she first checked on Glenn, she found him with a big smile.
“When I walked through the door, I told him: ‘Michael, you are glowing,’” Yearwood said.
“I’m really grateful to make contact with him and help him get what he needed,” she said. “As a person who served our country, I don’t think the words homeless and veteran should be included in the same sentence. So, I work hard to help as many veterans as I can. Michael definitely stood out from the rest.”
THE HOME DEPOT FOUNDATION LOVE FUND
The Landlords, Organizations and Veterans Engagement (LOVE) Fund grant helps veterans who are housing insecure or transitioning from homelessness. The fund works with local nonprofits to address challenges that veterans face, such as poor credit history or past evictions and is managed through Open Doors Atlanta.
For more information: https://opendoorsatl.org/
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