The Southside Works Fellowship is a program established by Emmaus House and the Atlanta Center for Self Sufficiency (ACSS) to learn more about youth employment and entrepreneurship needs on the southside of Atlanta. 

The Right Person For The Job

We believe that the people most qualified to speak on youth needs and opportunities are youth. The Southside Works Fellowship is designed to explore these issues from the inside by directly engaging with those we wish to serve. 

For this position, we sought a young person with strong connections to the southside to assess and recommend on current programming efforts, coordinate with community leaders, and leverage social media—along with other engagement strategies—to connect with and serve local youth.

We’re very proud to introduce our first Southside Fellow, Apple Inman.

In It Together

At Emmaus House, we recognize that engaged service isn’t just about providing opportunity; it’s about meeting people where they are and working with a shared sense of purpose. We look forward to working with Apple to better serve our southside youth.

When we discuss the barriers that women face, we talk a lot about income inequality and achievement gaps—and these are important. One thing we don’t talk about enough, however, is period poverty.

The Problem Is Widespread

A 2019 study found that two-thirds of women with low income were unable to afford period products during the previous year. Every month, approximately one in three low-income women have to miss school, work, or other outings because they cannot afford period supplies. 

This is a major barrier to opportunity, yet most states still tax the sale of feminine hygiene products and offer far too few programs to make these items available to women with low income.

We Can Do This

As a society, we owe it to ourselves to fix the systemic issues that create income inequality and achievement gaps. One thing we can do right now, however, is solve period poverty in our communities.

At Emmaus House, our food pantry is stocked with many necessary staples, including feminine hygiene items.

You can help us solve period poverty in our community by donating items on Mondays and Fridays from 9-2:30 p.m. We also accept financial contributions.

Click below to learn more about how you can support the Emmaus House food pantry.

At Emmaus House, we believe in the power of female role models. Our out-of-school program, Youth on the Move (YOTM), provides middle and high school students with enrichment opportunities, empowering experiences, as well as qualified mentors, many of whom are women.

To celebrate Women’s History Month, we asked a few of our students to describe a woman they look up to, as well as some of the ways this person has inspired them.

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Diamond, 11th grade

"I look up to my after school teacher, Ms. Ti, because she always has a positive outlook on any situation, no matter how difficult it is. She inspires me to be more positive, mindful, and caring. She also encourages me to never give up on my dreams, because, through hard work, anything is possible. Honestly, I believe that if the world had more people like her, it would be a better place. "

India, 9th grade

"I look up to Melanie Martinez (singer) because of her background and her style. Her background is basically how the kids at my school are today. They put her down, talked about her looks, and told her she would never become a singer. Now she has proven them wrong by becoming a celebrity. All of her songs have a meaning I can relate to. I love her so much."

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At Emmaus House, we recognize the many ways—both big and small—that extraordinary women have impacted our work, our mission, and our lives. We’re proud to see that our youth recognize it too.

In 1967, when Emmaus House was founded, the Peoplestown community was suffering population loss and disinvestment due to urban renewal policies, interstate construction, and white rejection of residential racial integration. 

As times change, these challenges have given way to others; redevelopment projects and gentrification around Georgia State Stadium and the Atlanta BeltLine threaten to displace many legacy residents and renters. 

Our mission is the same, but as circumstances shift, so must our strategies.

New Priorities

We recently revised our strategic plan to focus on three priorities:

• Creating a ladder to economic opportunity that leads to economic stability

• Providing multigenerational education that supports economic mobility for the next generation

• Optimizing Emmaus House assets for increased community impact

To learn more about our strategic priorities and our plans for implementing them, check out our website by clicking below.

In honor of Black History Month and Women's History Month, we wanted to recognize one of the early pillars of our community, Ms. Ethel Mae Mathews. 

Born in Alabama and married by the age of twelve, Ms. Mathews moved to Peoplestown in 1950 with her four children. She met Emmaus House Founder Father Austin Ford in the street one day in 1967. Father Ford convinced her to attend a welfare rights meeting. She would spend the rest of her life advocating for and championing her community.
 

A Lifetime of Activism

Ms. Mathews headed Emmaus House’s first Welfare Rights Committee and went on to serve as Chairwoman of the Peoplestown Advisory Council, President of the Welfare Rights Organization, and a board member for both the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Georgia Citizens Coalition on Hunger.

Known for her courage and character, Ms. Mathews could often be found at pickets and protests advocating for her Peoplestown neighbors. She helped secure better leasing agreements and improved property conditions from the Atlanta Housing Authority, and she took a stand against the Olympic Stadium, ultimately developing ways that its presence could benefit surrounding neighborhoods. In the 1980s, she physically blocked a set of bulldozers from razing the Peoplestown Community Center.

These are just a few standout moments pulled from a lifetime of activism.

Committed to Love

Ms. Mathews was a fierce idealist. The Atlanta History Center’s profile on her is titled, “Unwavering, Unyielding, Uncompromising.” However, at the center of all that Ms. Mathews did was a love for her community and a commitment to faith and justice. 

“I’m rich with many things,” she once said. “Not with money, but with courage, with strength, with faith, with independence, with my belief in God, and that makes me very rich.”

At Emmaus House, we strive every day to live up to Ms. Mathews’s ideals and legacy.
 

Emmaus House was founded during a time of immense political upheaval, activism, and change. As we celebrate Black History Month, we’ve been thinking about how that history of activism and advocacy carries through today.

One Voice

As an organization dedicated to serving the residents of Peoplestown and surrounding areas, community is the heart of what we do. In many ways, our community is a product of the Civil Rights Movement and the activism of the 50s and 60s. After all, what is activism if not the drawing together of many voices into one—a unified demand for change? 

The Civil Rights Movement succeeded in bringing together people who, prior to that, had often been silenced, marginalized, and isolated. In that sense, it served as the foundation of a new community—of many new communities—and is a legacy we carry with us today.

Community and Responsibility

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. The power of any community, however, lies in its willingness to engage with one another and lift each other up. Community is a privilege, but it’s also a responsibility. 

We’re so grateful to be surrounded by neighbors who are willing to strengthen one another, and, when necessary, demand change.

We’re sad to announce that, after seven years of service, our Director of Social Services, Adam Seeley, will no longer be working with Emmaus House. Adam came to us having already built an impressive resume of social work with organizations like the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Central Outreach and Advocacy Center, and the Gateway Center—a homeless service center and transitional housing facility located in downtown Atlanta.

Adam has been instrumental in serving our community via the Lokey Help Center. We will miss him, but we’re grateful for all that he’s helped us achieve and wish him the best of luck going forward.

We caught up with him recently to ask about the past seven years at Emmaus House.

How did you become involved in social work? 

I was raised in a household that strongly encouraged service to others. After college, I chose to do a year of service through the Presbyterian Church, USA's Young Adult Volunteer Program. I was selected to serve here in Atlanta at the Central Outreach and Advocacy Center and have been involved in this sort of work ever since.

What are some of the programs and/or initiatives you’ve helped with during your time at Emmaus House? 

You get to work on a lot of different things at Emmaus House, but what stuck out the most to me was our development of a really great client-choice food pantry and our Thanksgiving at Home event.

Initially, our food service consisted of handing out about 12-15 bags of food one day a week to whomever showed up first. It just felt like it wasn’t the best way we could be doing this. After a lot of work trying to figure out how we could provide the best possible service to our clients, we set out to create a wonderful space to distribute food as well as a great team of staff and volunteers to make it all work.

Our Thanksgiving at Home event probably takes the most amount of work and collaboration with businesses, churches, and individuals from all over the Greater Atlanta area. Providing hundreds of families with all of the items to have a great Thanksgiving takes a lot of effort and a lot of faith in other people. 

We begin preparing for this in September and every year feels like the first year. There are so many moving parts and just really high expectations in the community. It doesn't matter how organized and prepared we were, I was always a nervous wreck leading up to those final days before distribution.

How would you say your role at EH has differed from other service-based roles you have held? 

I transitioned from working with entirely unhoused populations to a community-centered space. This entire area has a little bit of everything going on, so I had to be flexible for all of those things. The nice thing is that I really got a chance to get to know a lot of residents here and build relationships with them. You also felt this very real sense of how deeply rooted Emmaus House is in this community: how long it existed before you, and how long it will continue to go on without you. It's a bit overwhelming, but also very humbling to be a part of.

What is the single most important thing you’ve learned during your time at EH? 

The most important lesson I have learned is to appreciate the moments and the time that you have with other people. It is a privilege to do this work every day. I am constantly reminded by our volunteers that people want to be here doing this work for no pay just to be of service to others.

Not taking your experiences for granted is so important. You meet so many wonderful people and you go through so much together. This whole community went through a pandemic together. We went through so much just to stay open and to be there for each other. I will never forget when things were just so hard every day and how well everyone responded. What a special thing.

Is there anything you’d like to say to the EH community? 

Thank you for letting me be part of your community and for allowing me to be a small part of the long legacy of Emmaus House. Thank you for putting your trust in me and allowing me to be a part of your own journey. I had a great time being here and I will be forever grateful for your friendship. 

We have accomplished a lot and have gotten each other through some difficult times. I am glad to know that you will continue to work with great servant leaders who will bring in new ideas and do great things. I look forward to seeing you grow and continue to provide care and service to people in need.

Emmaus House invests in activities that support economic self-sufficiency, that’s why we’ve partnered with the Atlanta Center for Self-Sufficiency (ACSS) to offer a ten-month paid fellowship supporting economic opportunity outcomes for young adults (age 18-24). 

ACSS provides workforce readiness, job placement, and life stabilization services to financially vulnerable men and women. They don’t just provide one-off assistance, they promote self-sufficiency by helping people prepare for and obtain full-time employment.

The Southside Works Fellow will engage with other young adults on the Southside to learn about existing community-based resources and evaluate their effectiveness. They will also inform and influence the way that workforce-related programs are developed and implemented in these communities.

In addition to research and advocacy, Southside Fellows will participate in various forms of professional development to build leadership and advocacy skills. To learn more about the Southside Works Fellowship and to apply, click the button below:

February is Black History Month, so in the coming weeks we can expect to see a number of posts and articles describing Black luminaries and their profound contributions to society. This is important, and we should all take time to honor these exceptional individuals and their accomplishments. 

However, Black history is about more than recognizing extraordinary individuals. Black history is also—in fact, primarily—the story of community: of families, neighbors, and allies supporting and inspiring one another despite seemingly insurmountable odds. It’s a story that continues today.

So as we take this time to learn about the many Black individuals who have shaped the culture and opportunities we enjoy today, let us remember that these individuals are not exceptions to Black history but a part of it. They each drew strength and inspiration from the communities of which they were a part, and while many of these individuals are no longer with us, the source of their inspiration has only grown as a result of their achievements. 

At Emmaus House, we believe that Black history is not just about recognizing the past but connecting us to the present, to our many friends, neighbors, and allies. We don’t know what the future holds, but we know that community has the power to shape it. Happy Black History Month.