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.

Emmaus House is dedicated to improving the economic and social well-being of the communities we serve, but it’s hard to even talk about economic and social well-being without talking about wealth.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Atlanta has the highest income inequality of any city in the country, despite record economic growth and the fact that it’s considered by many to be “a Black mecca.” But inequality of income is only part of the problem.

The Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative (AWBI) is a community of investors, advocates, and activists working to build Black wealth in Atlanta. Recently, they released a report titled “Building a Beloved Economy: A Baseline and Framework for Building Black Wealth in Atlanta.” The report presents a comprehensive way of understanding and confronting our city’s massive racial wealth divide and its impact on Black Atlantans.

Wealth and opportunity

Most people define wealth as a person or household’s assets minus their debts. A person can have relatively high income and still have little to no wealth, leaving them vulnerable to unexpected changes.

The median income for white families in Atlanta is $83,722 compared to $28,105 for Black families.

However, the median wealth of white households is $238,355: 46 times higher than the wealth of Black households, which is $5,180.

For Black residents of Atlanta, building wealth isn’t just about acquiring assets; it’s about security, mobility, and leverage… It’s about having the ability to say no to opportunities that aren’t right, and to invest in opportunities for growth.

Ultimately, Black wealth is about Black freedom, and—to paraphrase Dr. Martin Luther King—none of us are free until we all are.

Rooted in love

The report presents what AWBI calls “the structural determinants of Black wealth framework,” interrogating the data, narratives, and policies that drive Black wealth outcomes, from disparities in income and credit access to the disproportionate impacts of climate change and mass incarceration.

The goal isn’t just to highlight the problems, but rather to advance race-conscious solutions that build Black wealth and justice in the world.

“[N]ow more than ever, we need to embrace race-explicit strategies that demand we invest in people and places that have systematically denied access to opportunities,” says Dr. Janelle Williams, Co-Founder and CEO of The Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative.

Race-explicit work doesn’t mean race-exclusive work, however.

“The data, stories, and analyses we provide in this publication are rooted in love,” says Dr. Williams. “True love demands accountability, it looks to justice as its north star. This report is designed to realize the very real potential of our beloved home, Atlanta.”

Click below to read the full report and to learn more about how we can advocate for more equitable outcomes in our city.

With Black History Month coming up, we wanted to recognize one of the early pillars of our community, Judge Clint Deveaux. Community members who attend our Christmas celebrations may know him as Santa Claus, but Judge Deveaux has been an important figure at Emmaus House and the Emmaus House Chapel since its earliest days.

Man on a mission

Clint Deveaux arrived in Atlanta in December 1969 to help Andrew Young with his first congressional campaign. Soon after, he accompanied Mr. Young to visit the Welfare Rights Office and there met Emmaus House Founder Father Austin Ford along with Ethel Mae Matthews.

Deveaux went on to become close friends with Father Ford, working with him at the ACLU where Ford served on the board. After seeking Ford out for spiritual advice, eventually, Deveaux became a member of the Emmaus House Chapel and has served actively ever since. He currently serves as Treasurer.

Blessed community

One of the things that impressed Deveaux about Emmaus House was the strong sense of community. He fondly remembers the Christmas Eve dinners that Father Ford would host for staff in his home, with dishes ranging from fried chicken to oyster stew and red cabbage—even a suckling pig one year.

By the 1970s, the neighborhood had been devastated by the building of the Fulton County Stadium and the interstate which cut through the community, destroying residential property and forcing many residents to relocate.

The first law firm Deveaux worked for represented many of the neighbors and tenants and won terrific settlements for them.

In a later interview, Deveaux speculated it was Father Ford’s connection to one of the firm’s partners through St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church that resulted in the firm taking the case.

More than service

Judge Deveaux was and still is part of a dedicated group of supporters who, for various reasons, chose not just to support the community, but to become part of it.

When asked what he thought people should know about Emmaus House, Deveaux answered: “It was and still is, in many ways, an integrated—racially integrated—religious community. Interactions of people in both the programs and in the chapel are comfortably integrated. None of it is practiced. It’s just people who are comfortable with each other and they aren’t insecure about whites being with blacks and blacks being with whites. It’s rare in this town. There’s a lot of social stuff in Atlanta that remains pretty segregated.”

When we focus on building and strengthening our community, we do more than serve one another—we connect. Many thanks to Judge Deveaux for embodying what it means to be a community leader in Peoplestown.

On November 10, Greg Cole, Executive Director of Emmaus House, spoke at the Diocesan Annual Council to highlight the accomplishments of Emmaus House, its partnership with the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, and to highlight what’s ahead for our organization.

How we got here

Emmaus House was founded in 1967 by Father Austin Ford, an Episcopal Priest and advocate for civil rights. Working out of his home in Peoplestown, Father Ford enlisted the help of two nuns and a seminary student to garner resources and to assist Peoplestown residents: he set up an after-school program, once-a-month transportation to Reidsville State Prison for family members of inmates, chapel services, hot meals, and a poverty rights office. He led efforts for welfare rights, neighborhood empowerment, and racial justice.

Since our founding 56 years ago, Emmaus House has evolved alongside our Peoplestown community and the surrounding neighborhoods. Our staff and advisory board continue to serve the neighborhood in client-responsive and measurable ways that help families move toward economic self-sufficiency and children create pathways to educational and career success.

Partnering for impact

Emmaus House stands for justice and equity rooted in faith and a deep respect for the dignity of every human being. A mission of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, we have a long history of partnering with faith-based institutions (and others) to ensure our residents have the resources and support they need to pursue joy and opportunity.

What's to come

The programs and services that Emmaus House provides to its neighbors have become integral to the neighborhood's well-being. With the effects of gentrification evident all around us, our neighbors are in need of assistance now more than ever. With your support, our work will continue to address systemic issues like economic opportunity and access to education in our community.

To support our work and community, click below.

This year’s Thanksgiving at Home provided holiday staples to 250 families in our community, allowing them to enjoy a delicious meal at home with their loved ones. We are so grateful to everyone who donated ingredients to make these meals possible. Your support enabled our neighbors to celebrate the true purpose of the holiday: spending time together.

A special thank you to all of the groups and individuals who contributed to this year’s program. Girl Scout Troop 22170 sent some pictures of them collecting and organizing bags of ingredients for this year’s meals, and we also have photos of some St. Bede’s Episcopal Church members alongside their congregation’s donations.

So many people contributed to this year’s Thanksgiving at Home, it would be impossible to list them all, but their hard work and holiday spirit helped ensure that families got all they needed to enjoy a very special holiday. Thank you so much for your support.

On Sunday, October 15, we held our Annual Benefit on the Emmaus House campus. We had a lot to celebrate and it was a privilege to welcome our guests, Right Rev. Bishop Robert Wright of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, Dr. Beth-Sarah Wright, and State Representative Phil Olaleye. We were also very happy to hear from our Freedom School Servant Leader Intern (SLI), Jalen.

None of the work we do would be possible without the network of volunteers and supporters who invest their time and resources into lifting up the families and neighbors we serve.

They say the strength of a community is best measured during times of change. We’ve undergone many changes these past few years, but thanks to you, we are as strong as ever.

Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.

In many areas—and particularly those with a lot of new development—cashless establishments are becoming a popular way of doing business.

WABE reported on the trend recently, pointing out that Mercedes-Benz Stadium has been cashless since 2019 and, since then, many others have followed suit to alleviate operational challenges, address safety concerns, and prevent theft.

More and more business owners are beginning to believe the benefits of going cashless outweigh the additional processing fees.

Access denied

But there are also problems with refusing to accept cash. Major cities such as Philadelphia and San Francisco have banned cashless establishments, as well as the entire states of Massachusetts and New Jersey.

Our cash notes themselves declare that they are “legal tender for all debts, public and private.” Refusing to accept them raises questions of access, particularly for those who—for various reasons—are unbanked.

“According to the FDIC, 6.7% of Georgians are unbanked,” the WABE article observes, “with Black and Hispanic households being disproportionately unbanked compared to white households.”

As a result, we have to ask ourselves: “Do cashless establishments align with our vision of a fair and equitable society?”

Convenient banking

We believe it is important to ensure that unbanked citizens have equal access to goods and services. However, we also recognize there are many benefits to banking and not everyone who goes unbanked does so intentionally. Banks are often located in wealthier areas, and not everyone has the resources to commute or manage their finances online.

For these reasons, we’re proud to partner with PNC Bank to provide our residents with a convenient banking option.

PNC’s Mobile Banking Units (MBUs) are designed to extend essential banking services into low and moderate-income communities. In addition to banking services, MBUs provide financial education for homebuyers and money management strategies to help reduce residents’ reliance on high-fee check cashing and predatory lending.

The PNC truck is on the Emmaus House campus every Tuesday morning from 9:00 am - 11:00 am, offering all the services and benefits of a mobile branch.