Dwell With Dignity Returns to Atlanta for its Second Project

For Lisa Robinson and Kim Turner, good design serves as much more than a statement about style; it’s the foundation of inspired living and a nurturing environment. Their Dallas-based nonprofit, Dwell With Dignity, focuses on just that: cultivating comforting homes for families that need them most. The organization’s goal is simple: to use the power of design to help families escape the downfalls of homelessness and poverty.

With the help of design volunteers and donors, Dwell With Dignity not only injects life and positive energy into a home’s interior, but it also works to communicate the significant impact that a simple piece of artwork or fresh coat of paint can make—in both the look of a space and the well-being of its occupant.

“As a group of interior designers, we come in and provide everything,” says Vice President and Director Kim Turner. “Everything you see in here, we brought. We only work with an empty apartment, and we do it with a team of volunteers. Almost everything’s donated from vendors, which we’re connected to since we’re designers.”

Ronika “Rosze” Ward sees her newly furnished home for the first time.

Besides installing home furnishings such as bedding and furniture for families, Dwell With Dignity also ensures each home is well-stocked with necessities like cleaning supplies groceries. What’s more, the organization stays in touch with its homeowners, checking in a few weeks after installation, and again every several months after that. “We consider these families as part of our family,” says Turner. “In Dallas, we try to have family ‘reunions’ twice a year—we hope to follow that tradition in Atlanta as we provide more homes.”

In its home base of Dallas, the nonprofit is slated to complete 18 projects this year, and it has already put the finishing touches on two here in Atlanta. Discover volunteer opportunities and more information at dwellwithdignity.org.

Photography by Thomas S.England