Garnett has transportation to her new job, and while she works, 2-year-old Tre stays in safe, affordable day care.

At night, they and other families in the Interfaith Hospitality Network sleep at one of the network's member churches.

"It's very positive to be in a church while you're going through things," said Garnett, 22.

Interfaith has been providing safe shelter and a fresh start for homeless families in the Augusta area since 1998.

While parents are working or looking for work during the day, their children are taken to school or attend free Interfaith day care.

The center relies on church partners and private donors for the majority of its financial support, so a recent $15,000 grant from the Community Foundation of the Central Savannah River Area is a huge plus, director Sarah MacDonald said.

Once parents find steady work, the families can move into one of Interfaith's 11 units of transitional housing, while the children remain eligible for day care, she said.

With an emphasis on making participants self-sufficient, Interfaith boasts an 88 percent success rate, MacDonald said.

According to a recent study, Georgia has the nation's fourth-largest population of homeless children, with some 59,000.

"The majority of people are one paycheck from being homeless; you just don't know it," she said.