The symbolism is rich.

A significant and historic building on Auburn Avenue is being brought back to life with the upcoming move of Georgia Works, a nonprofit that provides housing and employment to homeless men who are drug- and alcohol-free and willing to work.

Georgia Works will celebrate its 10th anniversary in October by having served nearly 1,100 homeless men since its inception.

At the same time, Georgia Works is close to completing a $13 million capital campaign to move to the historic Odd Fellows building at 250 Auburn, which is being renovated to house the nonprofit’s operations.

Chris Patterson, board chair of Georgia Works, said he was attracted to the work with the nonprofit based on its outcomes.

“You start with someone who was living on the street, and when they were done with the program, they were back with their family, have jobs and a place to live,” Patterson said. “They basically are restored as a person.”

The history of the Odd Fellows building is eerily tied to the mission of Georgia Works. The Grand United Order of the Odd Fellows opened its headquarters in 1912. The founding motto of the organization founded in 1843 stated: “for the purpose of aiding and assisting each other, when but for the helping hand of a brother and friend in sorrow,” according to David Mitchell, executive director of the Atlanta Preservation Center and Easements Atlanta (which owns the façade of the building).

Georgia Works “will incorporate their mission of ending homelessness, criminal recidivism and dependency through programs aimed at personal development in good habits, work ethic and character by instilling self-sufficiency. We knew that they would be the stewards of the building and the community legacy,” Mitchell wrote in a letter to the chair of Neighborhood Planning Unit-M.

Georgia Works was founded in 2013 by Bill McGahan,…