Meet Robert/Aundria Davis/Love | Founders

We had the good fortune of connecting with Robert/Aundria Davis/Love and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Robert/Aundria, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Onnie’s House Inc. had a collaborative start, meaning it wasn’t just one person that made this vision/dream into a reality. There are 2 of us that have been able to collide together and make this company exactly what it is. Robert: I had a vision of starting a company since I was a young boy. I have always had some kind of small business going on back in my hometown within the state of Ohio. Coming from living in New York for few years before I made my way back to Georgia, I had a vision of starting a nonprofit and naming it after my grandmother. I grew up seeing her care for other people and open her doors to many when it came to housing and helping. I would often ride past and volunteer at the infamous shelter in Georgia on Pine Street and when I heard of them shutting it down I knew something like that needed to back within the city of Atlanta. I took a leap of faith and put together all of the necessary components regarding paperwork to make sure that I was establishing an official nonprofit; obtaining my EIN, registering with the secretary of state in Georgia, and applying for 501c3 status. I then started seeking out my board members, and that’s when I ran across my secretary turned partner/co founder Aundria. Aundria: I grew up around entrepreneurs and hustlers all of my life. As a young girl I wanted to be in politics, I’ve always wanted to be a voice for the less fortunate. I grew up in California, had completed high school and college here in Georgia, then left to go back home and live around my family for a few years. Working within the bank made me really want to figure out what I could do in business seeing business owners big and small make their daily transactions and understanding the freedom that they had with their time and ideas. When I moved back to Atlanta, I heard a voice in my head (God) tell me that I would go there and help the people in the streets of Atlanta, and that’s what I sought out to do. I was introduced to Robert by my eldest sister, they were coworkers, and her hearing his vision and his mission she knew I would be the perfect fit for him because I loved to help the homeless and feed the less fortunate since I was a little girl. I had the great opportunity of helping many times at Hosea Feed The Hungry back when they were doing it big at Turner Field, I had fallen in love with their work and helping hand. Working with Onnie’s House Inc. was a dream come true and a big piece to my purpose and mission here on earth.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Onnie’s House Inc, mission is to provide affordable rooming/housing in the Metro Atlanta area and rehabilitate the lives of the under-housed families through our program & teaching of financial literacy. We have been in the housing business for 4 years now, and every year we have learned hard lessons and have grown accordingly along with the people. We are most proud of our resilience, strength to fight and endurance. The support we give to those in need of housing is unheard of. Our homes come fully furnished with brand new beds, sheeting and pillows (which are replaced every time someone leave and we open doors to someone new) couches, pots and pans and bathroom decorations. We provide tissue and cleaning supplies within the house to ensure that our tenants are able to keep their areas clean and smelling fresh. We provide wifi as well and have very little monitoring when it comes to water, electricity, and gas usage. We know it is not our residence but our tenants so we want to provide a very comfortable experience as soon as you come in contact with Onnie’s House up until the day you decide to depart. We have not always had support when it has come to the help we provide and the people that we qualify. Even when we have been told “no” we always find a way to be able to give what it is meant and in our hearts to give to those who need our help, we don’t stop until that “no” turns into a “YES”.

It was not easy and it is still not an easy job. We believe so much in people being able to change as long as they are in an environment that allows them to grow. Having this mindset we accept a lot of individuals that have been denied in many places within society, and we watch them struggle to change and grow. Our company runs itself, it depends on everyone to play their part, beginning with us and ending with the people. We are not government funded and we are not rich founders so therefore every dollar we have is invested into making this difference for our community, and every dollar given is put into our cause and home for the people. We both give 100% of our focus and time to Onnie’s House, we are very blessed and fortunate to be able to do that especially seeing that it does not pay our bills. It gets hard for us personally however something in us wont allow us to stop because of the help that we provide and the lives that are being changed. We take ourselves and emotions out of the equation and continue to make a way for those who have lost a way.

Not only do we house individuals we also provide free clothing, resources and food. We love our community outreach events we do them quarterly at the minimum and try to go out to the park to provide a free hot home cooked meal every major holiday. We are blessed to be a blessing and at any chance we get we like to go out and raise awareness of the help that we provide so that we can continue to meet the needs of many. We assist with resume building and help with job placement, we are connected with many companies in the Atlanta area that helps us help others as well. Our focus this year is expansion. We are needed in our city, we are needed among our peers, and we need the support and help from our city and local city government. We want to be able to have a larger facility that would allow us to house many more and feed many year round in a nice enclosed area that belongs to us and the community.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
One of our favorite spots and places to meet up is Edgewood Pizza on Edgewood Ave. Edgewood Ave itself is very historic and has a lot of artwork presented and businesses along the block as you walk in that area. Inside of Edgewood Pizza there is artwork of local artists displayed and we fell in love with that the first moment we ever walked into the building. The owner is awesome he has helped us personally with great connections and assisted us with making our “Welcome Home Community” event possible. Aundria is a pizza lover and their pizza meets her standards every time. Great fresh ingredients that you can definitely taste in each bite, salads are great, chicken is very flavorful. If you like to indulge in drinks, bar tenders are always on point with mixing up your cocktail. Just overall a great place, from the paintings on the wall to the music playing over the speakers, we definitely give this place a thumbs up!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Robert: I would have to shout out my grandmother and family. They have always encouraged me to be more so that I could provide for them. I have seen my grandmother and mom work hard all of my life and provide for my younger siblings and myself. They are the why to my purpose and grind. Aundria: I owe my humbleness and work ethic to my grandfather and my parents. They have installed many great lessons and morals into me since I was a young girl, form the conversations they have had with me to me seeing them at their lowest and highest points in life and the integrity that they have always had brought great encouragement to me. I work hard and help others so that they can see with my actions that their many words and lessons were never in vain.

Website: www.onnieshouseinc.org

Instagram: onnieshouse

Linkedin: Aundria Love

Facebook: Onnies House Page