Our Impact

More than 25% of Richmond County residents live in poverty (US Census 2021). Many of those are men struggling through generational cycles of fatherless homes, emotional traumas and substance abuse. Some are even veterans. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 7% of all veterans face a substance abuse issue (2021). Additionally, Richmond County bears a staggering 33.7% death rate due to drug overdoses (DPH 2020). With statistics such as these in mind, and in honor of his grandmother’s heart of service for those in need, Christopher Mulliens founded the Freddie Mae Foundation, Inc. (FMF) in 2017. Our organization serves the Greater Augusta area and strives to be a safe haven for those we support through a “continuous effort to provide mentorship and community outreach” to the less fortunate and homeless men in our community. FMF recognizes the need for resources dedicated exclusively to men in the Greater Augusta area who find themselves struggling with substance abuse and financial instability, as very few resources such as ours exist. For this reason, we have created the Reclaiming My Manhood Sober Living House, an environment where trauma and mental health counseling are offered for men and their children. The inclusion of children allows for a more meaningful generational impact. Men enrolled in our programs are able to participate in classes on financial literacy, entrepreneurship, home ownership and parenting. We also provide employment and education assistance. For men with criminal records, we plan to offer re-entry counseling and work preparation such as learning new trades or farming. These classes prepare them for life after graduating from our program. Our men are able to immediately experience a newfound sense of dignity and normalcy as well as put these newly learned skills to use when they use the small shop within the house to “purchase” personal and work clothes, toiletries, and shoes. Upon completion of all required classes, our men find themselves better equipped for next steps and qualify for our stable housing transition assistance. We must help our men rediscover their value as human beings and become self-sufficient. Our goals are intentional as we work diligently to bring local awareness to the plight of the underserved, help create a healthy and safe neighborhood for everyone, and, ultimately, make great leaders within our community. In 2021, a generous donor gifted FMF with a house for this program that needs full renovations to be habitable.

Freddie Mae Foundation Leadership Academy – We mentor and help create leaders among our youth. With our mentorship program we mentor children to help change their opportunities. Also, representation is important especially because Augusta is about 57% black. We also want to mentor the youth in the house to help give them extra attention and care. Through mentorship this can expose the youth to more than what they have seen during their life or in their neighborhoods. With mentorship we want to break the cycle of homelessness, drug abuse, illiteracy and other things that plague our male community. Financial Literacy/homeownership – we are working with a financial educator. He helps mentor our young men on the matters of being financially sound. We are also working with Reality One Group Visionaries, to help our young men to understand homeownership and how to use homeownership as investment and how to create generation wealth. We are using this model with Kappa League here in Augusta, Ga. Granting one high school senior the startup cost for an LLC and a year’s membership with the Greater Augusta Black Chamber of Commerce. We want to help our youth by providing an opportunity to own their own business.