Mindfulness, as a means of stress reduction, has been around for many years. Recently, mindfulness practices have entered the mainstream, providing opportunities for implementation in a variety of settings. Knowing this, in 2016, Emmaus House began to incorporate mindfulness practices into its program. We did this in response to parents who said that dealing with stress is one of the issues with which they need the most help. In partnership with Dr. Andy Roach, Associate Director at the Center for Leadership in Disability at Georgia State University we taught simple mindfulness practices to those who attended our Great Start for Parents program. The project was funded by Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning,

This pilot program was so successful that we decided to move further with mindfulness as an intentional practice. In 2017, with a grant from Trinity Church, Wall Street, to support social-emotional development, we plan to incorporate mindfulness practices into some of our other programs: Youth on the Move, the Road Episcopal Service Corp, and our Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools® program.

Susan Kaiser Greenland, mindfulness educator, defines mindfulness as “the capacity to be alert and open to life experience as it occurs in a non-reactive, resilient and compassionate way.” We at Emmaus House are very excited about this latest development in our journey to becoming a more impactful, transformative presence in Peoplestown and beyond.

To facilitate this work, Emmaus House engaged with Mindfulness Without Borders, a leading provider of best practices and evidenced-based programs on secular mindfulness and social-emotional intelligence to youth, educators, health and corporate professionals in communities around the world. On Monday, February 6, 11 members of the Emmaus House staff, along with nine people from Georgia State University, took part in the first of three days of training to become certified facilitators of the Mindfulness Ambassador Council (MAC). The MAC program “offers youth a forum to meet face to face and learn about constructive ways for addressing personal, social and community challenges.”

Stay tuned for updates as we participate in the remaining two days of training and begin to practice greater mindfulness as a staff and with our neighbors in Peoplestown whom we serve.

The Road Episcopal Service Corps began in 2011 as a conversation with a diverse and energetic group of people about building a dynamic young adult formation and leadership program in the Diocese of Atlanta. Youth on the Move started in 2003 to provide middle and high school students with opportunities that will prepare them for success as adults. In 2016, Emmaus House had the privilege of taking on and offering leadership to these two programs. We are very excited about the ways in which these two programs enrich our work at Emmaus House.

Ryan Bigg is a second-year fellow of The Road and works with Youth on the Move. He offers his reflections here.

“Hi, my name is Ryan Bigg. A lot of you might know me or have seen me around at Emmaus House the last year and a half or so. I am a second-year fellow for The Road Episcopal Service Corps and have spent both of those years on site at Emmaus House.

During this time, I have been a catch-all resource for Emmaus House. I have worked at the Lokey Center, the Chapel, Freedom Schools® summer program and the Parent Power literacy program. More recently, my focus has been with the Youth on the Move after school program, which is the newest Emmaus House program.

One of the reasons I am such a catch-all resource and always seem to be around is that The Road Episcopal Service Corp is now a program of Emmaus House, which hosts, offers staff support for and provides housing to the ten fellows who take part each year.

So, I live and work full time here on the campus. By design, the fellows live in community with Peoplestown neighbors. I am an example of how well this can work. I have loved living here, working here and being among the people of Peoplestown.

This experience has been life-altering because it has changed my perspective on how the world works. The relationships I have built here are more fruitful than those I have previously experienced. I think this speaks to the value of the community of Peoplestown. Even though there are not as many resources in this area, the richness of joy and love that I feel here outdoes that of any other place I have experienced.

These characteristics have been clear to me recently in my work with the Youth on the Move program. The goals of Youth on the Move are to educate, enrich and empower middle and high school students in the Peoplestown area through various activities and experiences. In my time being with these students, I have seen growth in each of them, and I have enjoyed the richness of life with them.

One of the activities that we offer is college/career workshops that show the youth some of the possibilities that are available after high school. A few months ago, my mom and sister, both nurses at Emory, held a workshop about being a nurse.

The workshop was very successful. They created four different interactive stations to show the students different aspects of nursing. At the Look and Listen station, they took each other’s blood pressure and listened to heartbeats with a stethoscope. At the Hand Hygiene station, they learned how to put on sterile gloves. They practiced putting bandages on each other at the First-Aid station. Finally, at the Healthy Habits station, they discussed how essential daily exercise and eating healthy are for our bodies. The program concluded with a Having Fun exercise where my mom showed them a favorite dance of hers. In turn, they taught her a favorite dance of theirs. That was the highlight of the day!

This work at Emmaus House has been crucial for my personal development and growth. Instead of trying to describe how it changed my life, I want to encourage everyone to find a way to get involved. Being able to bring my family into the Youth on the Move programs and intersect my two worlds for a moment brought so much life into the space. I would love to see more of that around here. After all, that is what Emmaus House and The Road is about – meeting someone on a path, intersecting and interacting with them and having your life and theirs be different afterwards.”

WHEN WE FIRST MET MICAH* at our Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools® program in the summer of 2015, he was a rising fourth grader at D.H. Stanton Elementary School. Micah was hard to miss. He had a way of lighting up a room with just his smile. His intellectual curiosity inspired the tutors who worked with him.

But at home, Micah experienced some serious challenges. His mother, La ‘Tasha, was suffering from significant health challenges that threatened them with homelessness.

One weeknight in July, Micah’s mom attended one of our weekly meetings for parents of Freedom Schools scholars. There, La ‘Tasha learned about the other services available at Emmaus House. And when our team realized the crisis La ‘Tasha and Micah faced, we invited them to become one of the first families to enroll in our Peoplestown Family Initiative (PFI). PFI is a new case management program that seeks to help families to overcome the barriers that often lead to poverty.

La ‘Tasha embodies all that we admire about the strength of a mother’s love. That love compels her to never give up as she works to care for Micah. Still, she found herself struggling to help her son with the newer approaches to reading and math, now taught at D.H. Stanton, and schools across the state. And she was not the only parent to struggle in this way. More and more parents in Peoplestown communicated similar challenges.

Emmaus House responded by launching Parent Power (formerly called Homework Relief Bootcamp) Through a partnership with Literacy Action, we began teaching parents how to help their children with their reading. We also taught them tools and strategies so they could help with other subjects as well.

By implementing La ‘Tasha’s new skills, Micah caught up in grade-level reading, regaining 19 months of instructional level in just 16 weeks!

*The real names of our clients have been changed to respect their privacy.

As our relationship with La ‘Tasha grew, we learned that she and Micah were about to lose their home. The owner of the apartment building they lived in had stopped taking Section 8 subsidies.

That’s when our team sprang into action. We found another property in the final phases of construction that would keep La ‘Tasha and Micah in safe, affordable housing.

However, in an all-too-common turn of events, the developer halted construction just days before La ‘Tasha and Micah were to move in.

Upon learning the news, Adam, our director of social services, went directly to the developer's office where he refused to leave until they resolved the situation. And under threat of arrest, Adam’s advocacy went all the way to the owner of the company in Nashville.

Within days, the developer completed the unit, and La ‘Tasha and Micah had a beautiful new home.

If Micah had simply attended the CDF Freedom Schools program for six weeks one summer and gone home, he and his mother could have ended up homeless. But because of our deep commitment to embracing the whole family, we met La ‘Tasha.

A two-generation approach allowed us to harness the power of community, education, hope and love so that La ‘Tasha and Micah can work toward a better life for themselves. Now, this remarkable family is stronger and more stable than ever.

EMMAUS HOUSE PROGRAMS 

PEOPLESTOWN FAMILY INITIATIVE

The primary goal of the Peoplestown Family Initiative is to help clients increase their income levels, to teach financial management skills, to address health related issues and promote healthy living, and to secure or improve proper housing. Clients work with a case manager to create a customized service plan.

CHILDRENS DEFENSE FUND FREEDOM SCHOOLS®

Our CDF Freedom Schools program aims to shape children’s futures by developing strong, literate, and empowered children through six weeks of summer reading enrichment for children who might otherwise not have access to books or the environmental structure necessary to do summer reading.

PARENT POWER Formerly Homework Relief Bootcamp

Parent Power is an eight-week program designed to increase the literacy skills of parents and their children. Working in partnership with Literacy Action, we teach parents specific skills an• strategies for helping their children with homework and reading.

SATURDAY STE(A)M New in 2016

In partnership with Community Guilds, Inc., our redesigned Saturday program features the award-winning STE(A)M truck and uses project-based learning to incorporate science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) along with our existing arts program.

YOUTH ON THE MOVE New to Emmaus House in 2016

Youth on the Move strives to provide middle and high school students with opportunities that will prepare them for success as adults through enrichment, education, empowering experiences, and peer support.

Emmaus House Executive Director Joseph Mole says goodbye.

It is bittersweet for us at Emmaus House to announce that Executive Director Joseph Mole has tendered his resignation to pursue an opportunity in his hometown Chicago area. We are grateful for the incredible growth Emmaus House has seen over the last two and a half years under his leadership.

In the interim, Emmaus House Director of Development and Communications Greg Cole will serve as Deputy Director providing senior leadership during the transition and beyond. 

Along with the Rt. Rev. Robert C. Wright, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, we wish Joseph the very best.

Both Joseph and Bishop Wright wrote letters about the transition and what’s next for Emmaus House.

An excerpt from Joseph Mole's letter

"There are stops along life’s journey that leave marks on our heart that remain for a lifetime. For me, Emmaus House has been one of those stops. From the moment I heard about this special place founded by Father Austin Ford during the height of the civil rights movement of the 1960’s, it captivated my activist imagination for what a community could do for itself when organized for justice."

An excerpt from the Rt. Rev. Robert C. Wright, Bishop of the Diocese of Atlanta's letter

"There is a time and season for everything. So it is with gratitude that on behalf of the Diocese of Atlanta, I wish to thank Joseph Mole for his service as Executive Director of Emmaus House. His work as leader of this critical mission, in one of Atlanta’s important neighborhoods, has had a significant impact."

Dear Members of the Emmaus House Community and Supporters,

 There is a time and season for everything. So it is with gratitude that on behalf of the Diocese of Atlanta, I wish to thank Joseph Mole for his service as Executive Director of Emmaus House. His work as leader of this critical mission, in one of Atlanta’s important neighborhoods, has had a significant impact. Joseph has tendered his resignation, effective December 19, to undertake more good works in the Chicago area.

It has been a season of growth and advancement under Joseph’s leadership.

• The First Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools®  program in the state of Georgia was launched to prevent summer learning loss for more than 150 children
• Literacy and academic achievement efforts have been strengthened by tripling investment from foundations to support a two-generation strategy
• The mission’s first community-based case management model was started and then awarded a full funding grant from Fulton County
• Youth on the Move, a financially struggling tutoring and enrichment program for middle and high school students, was brought in-house with the first-ever United Way grant to Emmaus House
• Parents have gone on to learn mindfulness skills after Emmaus House was selected by Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child as a pilot site for their Frontiers of Innovation collaboration
• Emmaus House has nearly doubled its budget to approximately $1.4 MM

The Advisory Board will begin a search to fill the Director role. The search will be guided by the new Emmaus House Strategic Plan, adopted this October.

In the interim, Emmaus House Director of Development and Communications Greg Cole will serve as Deputy Director providing senior leadership during the transition and beyond. Greg has been with Emmaus House for four years. In that time, he has implemented a successful development strategy and diversified funding. This and his work on communications and awareness have strengthened Emmaus House’s position. I take comfort in the continuity he will provide.

Yes, there is a time and season for everything. I see the next season for Emmaus House as one of opportunity to further strengthen our partnerships and community as we strive to love as Jesus did.

Thank you for your ongoing support,

The Rt. Rev. Robert C. Wright

Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta

Click here to read Joseph's letter. 

There are stops along life’s journey that leave marks on our heart that remain for a lifetime. For me, Emmaus House has been one of those stops. From the moment I heard about this special place founded by Father Austin Ford during the height of the civil rights movement of the 1960’s, it captivated my activist imagination for what a community could do for itself when organized for justice. When I was chosen to serve as executive director of Emmaus House, I was both surprised and honored to be entrusted with such a legacy. And I’m so grateful that I was.

At the beginning of 2017, I will be headed “home” to embark on a new chapter in my life and career as founding executive director of Covenant House Illinois. Founded in 1972, Covenant House is one of the largest privately funded agencies in the Americas helping homeless and trafficked youth. It has provided food, clothing, crisis, and long-term housing, medical care, and vocational and educational opportunities for over 51,000 homeless and trafficked youth each year. As I’m sure you’ve read in the news, Chicago is experiencing a perfect storm for homeless youth with gang-related deaths at their highest in 20 years, dangerously cold winters, and a state government slashing funding for social services.

Having started my journey into social justice ministry in Chicago nearly 20 years ago, my heart is being drawn home. In the words of Frederick Buechner, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” For this next chapter, my deepest gladness is to head home and play a role in addressing the deep needs of homeless youth fleeing gang violence, abuse, and the bitter cold. I’m thrilled to be entrusted with the task of building the work of Covenant House from the ground up in Chicago.

The last two and a half years have been an exhilarating ride at Emmaus House as together we’ve tried new things, taken risks, and learned new ways of telling our story and the stories of our resilient neighbors in Peoplestown. From the chants and cheers of Freedom School® scholars to Christmas dances with our feisty seniors, there are many memories I will treasure. But most of all, I will treasure the relationships I’ve made with Emmaus House staff, board members, and supporters. This is truly a special place, and it is made special by the love and support of so many whose lives have been touched in some way by Emmaus House. Thank you for allowing me to be one of those lives!

It is comforting to know that I leave Emmaus House in a stronger place than when I arrived, and with a capable and talented leadership team at the helm. With Greg Cole stepping into the role of deputy director, the organization will have steady leadership through the transition and beyond.

Joseph Mole, LMSW

Executive Director

Click here to read the Bishop's letter.

For 50 years, Emmaus House has stood with the residents of Peoplestown in their quest to build better lives for themselves and their children. From our early days during the Civil Rights Movement to the uncertainty of today, we have loved and learned, prayed and mobilized, and laughed and cried with the incredibly resilient people of this historic neighborhood.

As we look forward to the next 50 years, we are clearer than ever about the work before us.

At Emmaus House, we stand for justice and equity. Justice and equity rooted in faith and a deep respect for the dignity of every human being.

At Emmaus House, we harness the power of community, education, hope and love to dismantle poverty, racism, and other barriers to opportunity in the lives and communities we serve.

In neighborhoods like Peoplestown, we see too many displaced families, shuttered local businesses, and kids kept indoors for fear of violence. We watch our neighbors confront challenges like limited access to affordable housing and underfunded schools. We see the barriers that limit the opportunities that many of us take for granted. And we recognize that our work is as necessary and important now as it was when Fr. Ford moved to Peoplestown in 1967.

In response to these threats, Emmaus House offers academic and social enrichment programs during the week, on Saturdays, and during the summer for children and youth.

But, we know that supporting children is only half of the solution.

We can best serve families through a two-generation approach. One that addresses the needs of the entire family — children and parents together — so that they can experience academic achievement and sustained economic success.

I hope you’ll read the story of La ‘Tasha, and her son Micah, below — an example of our two-generation approach in action.

Through your generous support, we can help remove those barriers to opportunity that so many families on the south side of Atlanta face. Thank you for continuing to walk this journey with us at Emmaus House and in Peoplestown.

Joseph Mole

Executive Director

Emmaus House

---

WHEN WE FIRST MET MICAH* at our Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools® program in the summer of 2015, he was a rising fourth grader at D.H. Stanton Elementary School. Micah was hard to miss. He had a way of lighting up a room with just his smile. His intellectual curiosity inspired the tutors who worked with him.

But at home, Micah experienced some serious challenges. His mother, La ‘Tasha, was suffering from significant health challenges that threatened them with homelessness.

One weeknight in July, Micah’s mom attended one of our weekly meetings for parents of Freedom Schools scholars. There, La ‘Tasha learned about the other services available at Emmaus House. And when our team realized the crisis La ‘Tasha and Micah faced, we invited them to become one of the first families to enroll in our Peoplestown Family Initiative (PFI). PFI is a new case management program that seeks to help families to overcome the barriers that often lead to poverty.

La ‘Tasha embodies all that we admire about the strength of a mother’s love. That love compels her to never give up as she works to care for Micah. Still, she found herself struggling to help her son with the newer approaches to reading and math, now taught at D.H. Stanton, and schools across the state. And she was not the only parent to struggle in this way. More and more parents in Peoplestown communicated similar challenges.

Emmaus House responded by launching Parent Power! (formerly called Homework Relief Bootcamp) Through a partnership with Literacy Action, we began teaching parents how to help their children with their reading. We also taught them tools and strategies so they could help with other subjects as well.

By implementing La ‘Tasha’s new skills, Micah caught up in grade-level reading, regaining 19 months of instructional level in just 16 weeks!

*The real names of our clients have been changed to respect their privacy.

As our relationship with La ‘Tasha grew, we learned that she and Micah were about to lose their home. The owner of the apartment building they lived in had stopped taking Section 8 subsidies.

That’s when our team sprang into action. We found another property in the final phases of construction that would keep La ‘Tasha and Micah in safe, afford•able housing.

However, in an all-too-common turn of events, the developer halted construction just days before La ‘Tasha and Micah were to move in.

Upon learning the news, Adam, our director of social services, went directly to the •developer's office where he refused to leave until they resolved the situation. And under threat of arrest, Adam’s advocacy went all the way to the owner of the company in Nashville.

Within days, the developer completed the unit, and La ‘Tasha and Micah had a beautiful new home.

If Micah had simply attended the CDF Freedom Schools program for six weeks one summer and gone home, he and his mother could have ended up homeless. But because of our deep commitment to embracing the whole family, we met La ‘Tasha.

A two-generation approach allowed us to harness the power of community, education, hope and love so that La ‘Tasha and Micah can work toward a better life for themselves. Now, this remarkable family is stronger and more stable than ever.

---

EMMAUS HOUSE PROGRAMS 

PEOPLESTOWN FAMILY INITIATIVE

The primary goal of the Peoplestown Family Initiative is to help clients increase their income levels, to teach financial management skills, to address health related issues and promote healthy living, and to secure or improve proper housing. Clients work with a case manager to create a customized service plan.

CHILDRENS DEFENSE FUND FREEDOM SCHOOLS®

Our CDF Freedom Schools program aims to shape children’s futures by developing strong, literate, and empowered children through six weeks of summer reading enrichment for children who might otherwise not have access to books or the environmental structure necessary to do summer reading.

PARENT POWER! Formerly Homework Relief Bootcamp

Parent Power! is an eight-week program designed to increase the literacy skills of parents and their children. Working in partnership with Literacy Action, we teach parents specific skills an• strategies for helping their children with homework and reading.

SATURDAY STE(A)M New in 2016

In partnership with Community Guilds, Inc., our redesigned Saturday program features the award-winning STE(A)M truck and uses project-based learning to incorporate science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) along with our existing arts program.

YOUTH ON THE MOVE New to Emmaus House in 2016

Youth on the Move strives to provide middle and high school students with opportunities that will prepare them for success as adults through enrichment, education, empowering experiences, and peer support.

There are many ways to celebrate the holidays with Emmaus House and the residents of Peoplestown. If you would like more information, please contact Charlotte Cameron and she will send you a brochure with descriptions and ways to help. Contact Charlotte Cameron at 404-525-5948, ext. 22, or charlottecameron@emmaushouse.org.

Thanksgiving at Home

Emmaus House provides 350 families with a turkey, side items, and fresh greens, allowing each family to prepare and enjoy a meal in their own home.

How you can help:

• Donate side items (we provide the shopping list and bag for you to put the groceries in)
• Contribute to the cost of 350 turkeys. Bags are due by Nov. 20 by 1:00 p.m.

Contact Adam Seeley at 404-525-5948, ext. 27, or  adamseeley@emmaushouse.org.

Christmas in Peoplestown - Saturday, December 3rd

Emmaus House partners with The Study Hall and McDevitt Center for a fellowship gathering and tree lighting in Peoplestown.

How you can help:

• Dress up in holiday hats and clothes.
• Help lead the Christmas carol singing.
• Help with setup (3:00 pm).
• Bring your family and friends and celebrate the season with residents of Peoplestown.

Contact Charlotte Cameron at 404-525-5948, ext. 22, or charlottecameron@emmaushouse.org.

Peoplestown 555 Senior Luncheon

Our 555 Seniors group celebrates Christmas with lunch, music and a visit from Santa and his elves! The 2016 luncheon will be hosted by Church of the Holy Innocents’.

How you can help:

• Donate gift cards (Kroger, Walmart, etc.)

Contact Charlotte Cameron at 404-525-5948, ext. 22, or charlottecameron@emmaushouse.org.

Grandparents Party

Community grandparents raising grandchildren are invited to take the night off and join us for dinner, singing and a raffle.

How you can help:

• Donate $10 gift cards
• Donate raffle items (towels sets, dishes, small appliances, gloves, XXL jackets, etc.)

Contact Charlotte Cameron at 404-525-5948, ext. 22, or charlottecameron@emmaushouse.org.

Secret Santa Shop – December 17

This is an activity of the Emmaus House Chapel. Children buy gifts for their parents, grandparents and family members. Volunteers help shop and gift wrap.

How you can help:

• Donate small items (new or used) for the gift shop: scarves, slippers, socks, soap, shampoo, cologne, shaving cream, razors, gloves, billfolds, home items, small appliances, costume jewelry, and watches make great gifts
• Help children select and wrap gifts.

Contact Father Ricardo Bailey at 404-525-5948, ext. 13, or ricardobailey@emmaushouse.org.

Children’s Christmas Festival – December 24

Santa and Mrs. Claus come to Emmaus House and distribute gifts to 900+ children.

How you can help:

• Create an “Angel Tree” for your parish, organization or group of friends. Shop, collect, wrap (optional) and label toys. Gifts should be delivered between December 16 and December 23.
• Help sort, stack and wrap Christmas gifts at Emmaus House after December 16th.
• Volunteer to help Santa & Mrs. Clause on December 24th.
• No time to shop? Send a donation to Emmaus House or donate online HERE and we will shop for you!

Contact Charlotte Cameron at 404-525-5948, ext. 22, or charlottecameron@emmaushouse.org.

Meet Joel Baker, Fire Chief of the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department, recipient of our Ethel Mae Mathews Courage & Character Award, and Peoplestown native. He has come full-circle by investing his time in helping the children at Emmaus House. We thank him, and everyone else who has been touched by Emmaus House in some way, for circling back.

Chief Baker is just one of many individuals whose lives were changed through programs and services at Emmaus House. With that being said, we’re pleased to announce the Circle of Hope campaign. An anonymous donor whose life was impacted by Emmaus House many years ago has pledged to match, dollar for dollar, the funds we raise, up to $25,000. This means your gift will be doubled, allowing us to raise $50,000 or more for future programs for children and families this fall at Emmaus House.

Because of you, we will continue to grow, learn and show resilience in the face of poverty and other challenges in Peoplestown.