In 1995, a group of concerned Henry County citizens decided to take a stand for abused, neglected and abandoned children. The result was A Friend’s House, an emergency shelter for children and youth in crisis. The doors opened on October 27, 1998 and over 2,100 children have been welcomed since. In 2006, a million-dollar expansion, funded by SPLOST, doubled the size of A Friend’s House. What began as a 12-bedroom facility became a 24-bedroom facility, with both a girls wing and a boys wing.

It became evident that continuity of care was just as important as crisis intervention and, in 2008, A Friend’s House became a group home in addition to being a shelter, serving primarily teens and children as part of a sibling group. Shelter care is typically for 30 days or less, emphasizing safety and crisis intervention; whereas group-home care lasts more than 30 days addressing crises and maintaining safety. To that end, in 2019, a portion of the building was renovated to become a 2-bedroom Supervised Transitional Living Suite, funded by Leadership Henry Class of 2019. Youth ages 17.5-21 years old have the opportunity to live in the suite as they prepare to transition from the foster care system into independent living.

From the beginning, residents of Henry county set out to provide a safe respite for children and youth in crisis. Their concern for the physical and mental well-being of each child led to the name, A Friend’s House. As such, residents may choose to tell their story, or not, when explaining to others that they’re staying at “a friend’s house”. In every detail, each step of the way, each addition and renovation, A Friend’s House is truly the house that Henry built!