With mixed emotions, I announce that I am leaving Emmaus House to move to another nonprofit. When I started eleven years ago as the Development Director, I had no idea of the holy work that takes place here every day.

At Emmaus House, those we serve are our teachers. I have learned from the thousands of people who have walked through our Help Center door that the outward trappings of success do not define human dignity. I have been reminded that the vulnerable among us are God’s beloved and are worthy of our love and care. I have seen Emmaus House help people of all ages embrace the opportunity to learn and grow so they can create better lives for their families.

For the past seven years, I have had the honor and privilege to serve as Executive Director, working with Bishop Wright, the Advisory Board, members of the Peoplestown community, funders, and so many others to continue the rich legacy of service to our neighbors on the south side of Atlanta. This legacy is now 57 years strong, and I am proud to have contributed a small part to this work.

The neighborhoods around us are changing, but Emmaus House stands firm on sacred ground. After all this time, and through all kinds of change, Emmaus House remains a strong, vibrant ministry where the wonder of God’s love is on display every day.

It has been a privilege to serve, and I am confident that Emmaus House will continue to be a beacon of love and support for those who often go unheard.

Peace,
Greg Cole

Message from Right Rev. Robert Wright,
10th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

“Greg Cole has been an outstanding partner in ministry as the Executive Director of Emmaus House. His service to the vulnerable in our midst leaves a proud legacy for his successor. We have been blessed as a diocese by his ministry. We are grateful for the work of the continuing program staff and look forward to working with advisory board leadership to explore next steps towards executive leadership at Emmaus House.”

Message from Lori Elmore,
Emmaus House Advisory Board Chair

“Greg has been an exemplary Executive Director and has made significant contributions to Emmaus House and the Peoplestown community. He led the organization during a time of immense change and Emmaus House is in a stronger position because of Greg’s leadership. We appreciate his dedication and wish him the very best in his next endeavor.”

March is National Nutrition Month—a time to learn more about making informed food choices and to develop healthy eating and physical activity habits. It’s also a time to recognize that many families in our community face challenges accessing nutritious food options. 

Helping Get Food on the Table

One in nine Georgians experience food insecurity. The Emmaus House Food Pantry and Lokey Help Center provide resources for our neighbors who lack reliable access to sufficient quantities of affordable, nutritious food. 

In addition to providing them with food options, we also help guide neighbors through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) process so that they can access the food options they need to make healthy decisions and make the most of opportunities.

Weighing the Options

No family should have to choose between purchasing living essentials and healthy foods. Click below to learn more about how we’re addressing food insecurity in our community and how you can help.

We’re thrilled to announce our new Supports for Success Manager, SaPhenixx "Phenixx" Adams. 

Phenixx is a Georgia native—born and raised in East Atlanta—with a passion for advocating for underserved communities. She has spent the last several years building a network of resources to aid Metro Atlanta residents, specifically unhoused youth and adults, domestic violence survivors, clients living with AIDS/HIV, and low-income Atlanta residents. 

“Emmaus House’s mission to provide support and resources to residents in Peoplestown is what makes me excited to join the team. I have a passion to provide equitable access to resources to all communities and Emmaus House allows me to continue doing the work that I love. Emmaus House embodies the statement that “It takes a Village,” and I am thrilled to join its continued efforts and success.”

With a Master of Arts in Clinical Counseling from Brenau University, Phenixx specializes in trauma-informed care and therapeutic interventions. She believes you must understand an individual's experiences fully to assist them with their goals. She is determined to bring equitable access to mental health and social resources to residents of Metro Atlanta.
 

Supporting Economic Well-Being

As Supports for Success Manager, Phenixx will oversee our Supports for Success program, which takes 30-40 heads of households on a year-long journey toward economic stability, personal resiliency, and improved family well-being. Click below to learn more about the Supports for Success program.

In the meantime, please join us in welcoming Phenixx!

To learn more about our Supports for Success Program, click the link below:

Stable housing is critical for all kinds of success. Research shows that stable housing leads to greater family stability, better mental health for children, youth, and parents, increased educational achievement for children, and stronger communities overall. 

The benefits of stable and affordable housing are clear, but for many Atlanta residents, it remains out of reach.

To address this issue, the City of Atlanta hosted its first Affordable Housing Week last month as it continues to acknowledge residents’ concerns over costs and access to quality housing in our neighborhoods. 

Prioritizing Quality Housing for Everyone

From February 12 - 16, the City of Atlanta offered workshops and presentations for those involved in the development of affordable housing. City staff also reviewed and consulted on affordable housing projects already in their pipeline. 

Topics of the week included the permitting process, compliance, environmental impacts, and resources available to developers. The city also hosted site visits to help address questions and show parts of the process in a hands-on manner.
 

A Foundation for Success

Affordable housing and combating the effects of gentrification are subjects we think about a lot at Emmaus House. Honoring our legacy residents while ensuring that our neighbors have foundations to thrive ties directly to our mission of improving the economic and social well-being of our neighborhoods. 

Click below to learn more about how our work and mission is responding to the issue of affordable housing in our communities. 

By: Rev. Kenya A. Thompson

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Anna Julia Haywood Cooper was an activist, educator and author. Born in 1858 to Hannah Stanley Haywood, who was a slave, Anna never knew the identity of her father.  Cooper began her impressive academic career at the age of nine at St. Augustine’s Normal and Collegiate Institute. She faced one of her first education-related prejudices here: she initially was not allowed to take a course in Greek because it was only open to male students. Cooper protested and eventually became the first woman allowed to take Greek. It is with this passion, energy and commitment that she would go on to stand up to exclusionary practices based on race and gender, throughout her entire life. 

Anna Julia Cooper valued education for all students, regardless of race or gender. While she supported vocational education programs, she strongly believed that all students deserved the opportunity to receive a “solid” college education. As the principal of the prestigious Dunbar School, a Washington D.C. preparatory school for black students, Cooper actively sought college placement and scholarships for her students with much success. When she refused to drop her ‘non-vocational’ approach, she was forced to resign as principal. Cooper spent subsequent decades as a teacher at the school, furthering her own education at Columbia University and her work as an author.   

As an author, she is widely known for her authorship of A Voice from the South by a Black Woman of the South. This work stands out as ‘one of the most forceful enduring statements of Black Feminist thought to come out of the 19th century,’ and concentrates on her philosophy that educating Black women would result in uplifting the entire race. She was a trailblazer in the Black feminist thought movement. 

Her work as a political and community activist, educator and author who stood against injustice on behalf of others is inspirational. Her life, one rooted in faith, exemplifies what Emmaus House stands for: justice and equity. As we celebrate Women’s history month, let us remember Anna Julia Haywood Cooper, and all women like her, who worked to ensure just treatment and equity in education for all people regardless of race, gender or economic status. She was committed to improving the quality of life for African American Women in particular and sought justice on behalf of all people. She broke barriers to opportunity that challenged African American women through her life’s endeavors. 

Source: Leadership Gallery: The Church Awakens-African Americans and the Struggle for Justice.

The Biden administration recently announced a new initiative to reduce banking overdraft fees—the latest in their crackdown on ‘junk fees’. The proposal could bring the fee down to as little as $3, removing an unnecessary burden on American consumers, particularly those living paycheck to paycheck.

According to research from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the nation's largest banks make nearly $8 billion a year on overdraft service fees alone.

The reduction in overdraft fees would help a large percentage of people struggling to make ends meet reserve more money for essentials like food and housing, as well as encourage the adoption of banking services in many marginalized communities.

Emmaus House partners with PNC Bank to make mobile banking units and financial literacy training available to our neighbors and residents. Click below to learn more about our partnership with PNC Bank.

At their first board meeting of the new year, Invest Atlanta outlined their goals, programs, and priorities for the year ahead.

A key focus for 2024 will be maintaining existing affordable housing and increasing new housing opportunities along the Beltline through initiatives like property tax and down payment assistance, health and safety repairs, and funding for new affordable developments.

Investing in Community

Affordable housing and combating the effects of gentrification are subjects we think about a lot at Emmaus House. Honoring our legacy residents while keeping our community both affordable and liveable ties directly into our mission of improving the economic and social well-being of our neighborhoods.

We are hopeful that these new initiatives and goals from Invest Atlanta will support that mission and ensure the areas around the Beltline remain enjoyable and accessible places for all.

Click below to learn more about how our work and mission is responding to the issue of gentrification in our communities.

On January 15, Martin Luther King Jr.’s relatives and the city of Atlanta celebrated what would have been Dr. King’s 95th Birthday. Thousands gathered to celebrate a ‘day on, not a day off’ in observance of this year’s theme: "It Starts with Me: Shifting the Cultural Climate through Study and Practice of Kingian Nonviolence."

We owe so much to Dr. King’s unrelenting sense of social responsibility and his drive to end racial inequality. In many ways, his work helped inspire what we do at Emmaus House and continues to guide our operations today.

There is still an incredible amount of work to be done when it comes to dismantling systemic racism and lifting up marginalized communities, but we are immensely grateful for the foundation Dr. King’s life and legacy have provided.

Mental health is one of the most important factors in overall health and well-being. It can be difficult to make time for prioritizing our mental health, and this is particularly true for marginalized groups struggling to make ends meet.

Nevertheless, there are a lot of small things we can do that have been proven to have a big impact on the way we feel in our day-to-day lives. One of the top recommendations? Finding a social support system.

Dr. Stephen Palte, chief medical officer of UnitedHealthcare of Georgia, recently joined “All Things Considered” to discuss how building up the relationships and the ‘safety net’ around you can make a drastic difference in your mental health.

Community Care

At Emmaus House, we’re committed to providing a caring and compassionate ‘safety net’ for our neighbors and residents, because that’s what community is about.

With programming like Mimi’s Yoga Kids and Youth on the Move, we provide residents with a space to form relationships and develop a network of support they can depend on to lift them up when they need it.

Click below to learn about how we’re supporting mental health in Peoplestown and surrounding areas.