Trembling, shaking, and scared while barely unrecognizable in the darkest shadows of the world is an issue that many Americans face daily. A call for desperate measures can sometimes lead into a life of destitution and addiction.

Maurice Bigby, a 42-year-old Georgia native has lived that walk and knows the underprivileged feeling of laying his head on a hard cold surface at night while people occasionally walk by and glance. Bigby is one of the few, of hundreds of homeless people in metro Atlanta who has successfully transitioned back into the normal realm of society with help from various agencies. Another Chance of Atlanta, Inc. is one agency in particular that has changed Bigby’s life forever.

Providing housing and offering recovery support services to people and their families that are in recovery is one profound mission that Another Chance of Atlanta, Inc. doesn’t take lightly. Another Chance, which is a shorter name for the organization is able to reach out to the homeless people in Atlanta, Georgia through their various outreach programs and initiatives.

“I was homeless, abused drugs, and an alcoholic before going to Another Chance,” says Bigby. According to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs 13,790 people were literally homeless as of January 2015. While the number of those homeless are in the thousands, people like Bigby are desperately searching for help.

There are 578,456 homeless people in the United States and approximately 2,100 homeless people in metro Atlanta, in which 21 percent are veterans according to the website for Another Chance. The organization initiative is to simply give people another chance says Executive Director Rozell Green.

“Today we house over 100 people from temporary housing, transitional housing, permanent housing to permanent supportive housing,” says Green.

Being in long-term recovery and homeless at one point in time herself, Green knows about the walk that thousands of homeless people face every day. That walk has inspired Green to create Another Chance because she believes everyone deserves a second chance.

Another Chance believes in showing passion for those who have successfully completed their program by allowing them to provide encouragement to others as the organization allows them to volunteer. These past clients are a key source for Another Chance because they serve as evidence of testimony for others. The organization has been focused on changing lives and as result has allowed some clients to serve on its staff.

Pamela Johnson, a long-term recovery survivor and an office administrator for Another Chance says she most enjoys being able to work with others who share a similar background because she’s able to help them in the same way the organization helped her.

“I was homeless, doing drugs and an alcoholic for 18 years and after being sentenced to 10-years in prison, the judge granted me one last chance. That one last chance was used on Another Chance organization and today, I am six and a half years into long-term recovery,” says Johnson.

The organization partners with the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, Department of Veteran Affairs, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and others to help support the underprivileged and homeless veterans with housing. In 2013, Another Chance became one of three service providers working with the United Way of Greater Atlanta on the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program.

“It took me about a year to fully complete the program at Another Chance and I am truly honored in how they supported me by helping me to get on my feet and additionally, by providing housing for me,” says Bigby.

As for Bigby, since overcoming homelessness and substance abuse, he now has a place to call home and is working a full-time job. Bigby is now enjoying life as he spends a good portion of his day earning money at California Kitchen Pizza by cooking and preparing food for its customers in Alpharetta, Georgia.

“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the organization showing me the greatest love in the world and giving me inspiration,” says Bigby.

While many Americans battle the everyday dilemma of being homeless, there are many organizations around the United States similar to Another Chance, who seeks to positively impact the nature and circumstances surrounding the issues that homeless people face.