About Our Founder

Early years

A loss that shaped a helper

Mitchell Austin was five years old, a few months from starting kindergarten, when his mother unexpectedly died — twelve days after giving birth to his youngest brother. As the middle child of five, he learned early what it feels like to be overlooked: an innocent child present in the room, but not always heard or seen. He describes this experience as “MCS” — Middle Child Syndrome. A roller coaster of negative and positive thoughts became part of everyday life, and those experiences helped shape his desire to create safe spaces informed by the perspectives of children and youth. Mitchell never wanted life's hardships to harden him. Instead, he remained intentional about serving others — perhaps, in part, as a form of protection. This became the root of a lifelong conviction: every person deserves to be included, listened to closely, and helped even when helping may not be convenient.

Growing up

Raised on old-fashioned values

He was raised by a strict, old-fashioned grandmother who held firmly to traditional values, and much of his childhood was spent in the company of adults far older than he was. Mitchell began working at the age of seven, cutting grass. As a teenager, he worked in Summer Youth Employment Programs (“SYEP”), kept the house clean, learned to cook and helped others. He purchased his own school clothes and personal essentials, and shared his earnings with his grandmother. He loved going to church and rode the church bus every Sunday. Always a very active listener, he developed a maturity and perspective well ahead of his years.

A family of service

Military influence and respect

His father was a veteran who served through two wars. That military connection became a deeply significant influence for a child who had also lost his mother. Mitchell spent some summer months and holidays living on military installations, experiencing a world of diversity and culture. He also grew up close to several military installations, so military culture remained a constant part of his life as a military dependent. He witnessed the negative effects of war on active-duty soldiers and veterans, including experiences historically described as shell shock (“Shell Shock”) and now understood in the context of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). As a young man, Mitchell began mentoring, training and coaching military adults — work that later came full circle through deeper experiences serving veterans. This exposure, and his enduring respect for service, are direct reasons his work has always made room for veterans: men and women whose sacrifices deserve practical, dignified support long after the uniform comes off.

Five decades of care and serving

Helping and serving became a habit, then a calling

At a very young age, Mitchell helped care for the children coming up behind him and, just as naturally, assisted the adults ahead of him. Serving seniors — meeting daily needs, offering companionship and standing alongside their companion care providers — became a passion that has never faded. Across close to fifty years of companion care and service, he has trained, coached and mentored people from small children through grown adults and seniors, many old enough to be his mother or father.

Mitchell became a state-licensed barber and a state-licensed instructor, trained by an older gentleman who owned the school. Mr. Louis C. Brown and Mrs. Mary E. Brown of Brown's Barber College adopted him as their godson. Anchored in old-fashioned values and taught to serve his community, Mitchell offered haircuts to unhoused people and to those in hospitals and nursing facilities, and helped feed people in need. He also offered free grooming services through Hosea's Feed the Hungry, supervising students while grooming alongside fellow craftsmen. From time to time, he offered grooming services for deceased individuals — all in keeping with a life of companion care and service to others.

His service has also included consulting. As a former real estate appraiser, home inspector and mold inspector, Mitchell took time to inform and educate clients well beyond the job description, at no additional cost. He has offered project management services for small businesses, independent contractors and learning institutions, and has some film acting experience.

Mitchell believes that some of his strongest gifts are his abilities to train, coach and mentor others, and to help transform lives for the greater good. His background in transformation includes positive results with classroom learners ranging from age sixteen through seniors: people reentering society from penal systems, military veterans, former college students and individuals navigating career changes. These experiences have strengthened his conviction that part of his calling is to foster others along positive pathways.

Hearing the humble words, ‘Thank you for not giving up on me,’ and witnessing tears from people much older than himself have deepened that calling. Veterans living with alcohol misuse and PTSD, at-risk youth, people reentering society from the penal system, and those navigating life changes or career transitions continue to remind him why families and communities deserve to be served with humility.

Today

Personal experience becoming purposeful service

The pathways of Chosen Vessels Fostering Chosen Pathways were not designed from a distance. They grew out of experiences Mitchell personally lived through — loss, being unheard, learning to listen, carrying responsibility for others, and discovering that resilience is something a community builds together. That is why this organization exists: so that individuals, families and neighbors facing hardship encounter someone who genuinely hears them and helps them find a pathway forward. Along the way, he has also trained retirees who were finally fulfilling one of their long-held dreams or desires.

Mitchell has served with various ministries over the years and has personally donated automobiles and a bus to a ministry. Offering clothing, food, housing assistance, rides and everyday essentials has also been part of his journey. For many years, he has served alongside other faithful servants, giving back to communities and families through practical care and shared commitment.

Mitchell and Oreo are commissioned by the “Our Journey of Hope” (OJOH) Cancer Care Ministry, and Mitchell has also served with the Grief Share Ministry and the Celebrate Recovery Ministry. Recognizing the need to dismantle and end the silence associated with mental health and emotional wellness stigmas, Mitchell is currently a registered member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness — NAMI Connection Recovery Support Group and NAMI Ending the Silence. He is also certified through the Faith-Based Mental Health Initiative, Inc., which is in partnership with the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities and the Center of Excellence in Behavioral Health at Morehouse School of Medicine. Transforming negatives into positives is the daily goal.