Community Members Rank Their Priorities

This quarter, we've continued to collaborate with existing partners and coalitions in our focus areas and began attending community events to engage with residents in each area to learn their priorities. Earlier this month, we attended the English Avenue Festival of Lights in Fulton County and Mable House Harvest Festival in Cobb County. Many thanks to the folks in the Westside Historic Cultural Arts Council and Mable House for hosting us!

Interactive survey tool where residents cast their vote for the issue that mattered most to them.

Residents interacting with survey tool choosing their top issues such as 'youth activies.'

With the help of Orange Sparkle Ball, our design contractor, we created an interactive survey tool where residents can cast their vote for the issue that mattered most to them. These issues were derived from the focus groups held earlier in the year in each census tract.

For Bankhead/English Avenue, the top issue that residents chose was affordable housing. For Mableton, the top issue that residents chose was youth activities, though increasing general community activities was also a high priority.

Coming Up Across the Region

We'll be finishing out 2022 by holding or attending events in the remaining focus census tracts to learn their priorities. We have several planned or in-the-works, but are still looking for festivals or resource fairs in Fayette, Cherokee, Henry, and Rockdale counties. Though we are in contact with collaboratives and organizations in each of these counties, suggestions are welcome! If you know of a relevant gathering, please reach out to Arin at ayost@atlantaregional.org

What We're Learning From

Lately, we've been finding our way through the Metro Atlanta Racial Equity Atlas created through a partnership of the Partnership for Southern Equity (PSE), Atlanta Regional Collaborative for Health Improvement (ARCHI), and Neighborhood Nexus. This data source explores education, economic, and health indicators and their intersection with race and also includes personal stories that explain why the data matters.