Neighborhood Collaborative - The Atlanta Project¹
at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies

Georgia State University transferred The Atlanta Project [TAP] into the university family as a means of enhancing research, teaching and service through more effective partnerships with its urban environment and neighborhoods. TAP is part of the activities of Domestic Programs in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. Former President Jimmy Carter established TAP in 1992 as part of The Carter Center where it operated until August 1, 1999, at which time it was transferred to GSU. TAP becomes the first step in developing a university wide unit called The Neighborhood Collaborative that will assist in implementing the GSU commitment to working in partnership with the community to improve the downtown Atlanta.

TAP is a model of inclusivity, collaboration, integration, and cooperation designed to bring about sustainable change in urban Atlanta's most economically disadvantaged neighborhoods. Community capacity building, volunteerism and creating unique partnerships among citizens, businesses, universities, service providers, faith organizations, government agencies and elected officials are TAP cornerstones. The TAP mission is to increase the capacity of communities and neighborhoods to improve the quality of life through collaboration, partnerships, volunteerism and cooperation. Douglas Greenwell is director of the Neighborhood Collaborative/The Atlanta Project.

During the 2000 year TAP has been successful in the development of more effective partnerships between the university and the community. Collaboration with Dr. Jeff Grabill in the English Department has resulted in students in his class learning about various community groups and participating with the different neighborhood organizations by developing brochures, pamphlets, and web pages/sites. The Mechanicsville Neighborhood Association worked closely with students of Dr. Grabill's class to develop a neighborhood plan, and students developed a brochure for The Southwest Economic Development Corporation (SWEDCO).

Service Projects

Family Friends Program: TAP has been awarded a grant in the amount of $74,200 from the Department of Health and Human Services Administration on Aging. The grant program, entitled Family Friends, is funded for one year and has the potential of renewal for two more years. The goal of the program is to match senior volunteers with families that have children with disabilities or chronic illnesses. Volunteers help the children as well as the entire family find solutions to the many problems they face.

PeachCare for Kids Coalition: With the objective of increasing access to healthcare for the residents of Metro-Atlanta, the coalition was made up of community residents, non-profits, government officials and TAP. Four community residents (Health Insurance Advisors) were hired and trained to provide education and assistance in applying for public health insurance. They conducted outreach to the various communities in Clayton, DeKalb and Fulton. The Health Insurance Advisors completed a total of over 75 presentations to neighborhood groups, PTA's, small businesses, Health Fairs, etc.

Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration 2000: In collaboration with the Office of Community Outreach and Partnership, TAP facilitated a session on PeachCare on MLK Day at GSU. The following day, the School of Social Work students, TAP and OCOP went to one of the intown neighborhoods, Edgewood Court Apartments (275 units) and distributed health education materials and talked with residents about PeachCare For Kids.

Stand For Children Day: TAP received a grant from the Department of Medical Assistance that is administered through Health Policy Research at GSU to conduct events to increase awareness of children's health issues. TAP established three events in collaboration with two public schools and one community organization.

Community Empowerment Advisory Board (CEAB). TAP has an agreement to provide staff support services for the CEAB, the board of community elected representatives of the Empowerment Zone Neighborhood who provide advice and direction for the Atlanta Empowerment Zone.

TAP has developed several proposals for community projects:

Job Training and Small Business Creation. The Atlanta Project of the Georgia State University Neighborhood Collaborative (GSUNC/TAP) proposes training in Medical Billing Micro-Enterprise Program (MBMEP) for low-income individuals. This market opportunity is demonstrated by the high rate of placement and above average starting salaries in this field. Medical Billing as a business trend will continue to increase given the anticipated legislative requirement for Medicaid and Medicare healthcare providers to bill electronically.

Youth Tobacco Use Prevention. A community and school based intervention to promote tobacco free norms. TAP is proposing to deliver a community based intervention that will promote education, and environments that support behavior changes consistent with tobacco free norms among youth and adults.

Girls Study Group. In collaboration with the School of Nursing, TAP has submitted a proposal to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to establish a Girls Study Group composed of multi-disciplinary academicians and practitioners to develop a sound theoretical and empirical foundation to guide future development, testing and dissemination of strategies, to effectively prevent and reduce delinquency and violence among girls. Faculty from the schools of Law, Education, Policy Studies, Health and Human Science, and Arts and Sciences will be joined by colleagues from Emory University and Morehouse School of Medicine as well as the Fulton Juvenile Court, Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice, Atlanta Public Schools and Families First.

Digital Village Development in partnership with Hewlett Packard. TAP facilitated a collaboration that included the Atlanta Public Schools, the Atlanta Empowerment Zone, The ACE Corporation (nonprofit), The Community Empowerment Advisory Board, the Mayor's Office of Community Technology and other units of GSU to request a partnership with Hewlett Packard to develop a Digital Village in support of the vision for improving the quality of life in the 50,000 population urban neighborhoods.

Community Health Education. TAP has developed a model to use peer educators to provide educational outreach to schools, communities and neighborhoods to increase access to quality healthcare for women and infants, while training residents to be a resource to each other through our community health advisor model. The program will also address priority health needs of adults in the areas of diabetes, hypertension and heart disease.

The three Neighborhood Offices continue to enhance Community Capacity Building:

• Collaborated with Junior Achievement and facilitated two Super Saturday Events at GSU. Super Saturday is a fun filled day for middle school students to learn why it is important to plan for their future and to find out what is needed to be successful. The curriculum includes financial planning. Over 120 middle school students from the metro area attended.
• Facilitated the development of a partnership between the Atlanta Urban League and St. Paul A. M. E. Church to apply for the Corporation for National Service (CNS) Digital Divide Grant.
• Developed a community improvement plan in collaboration with Georgia Tech and The Community Design Center for Mechanicsville and requested funding from HUD for implementation.
• Facilitated 2nd Annual Health Fair at Hutchinson Elementary School (one of our school based health clinics). Over 250 people attended the fair. Fifty-Five (55) children received immunizations, 77 children received hearing, dental and vision screenings. Burger King, Chick-Fil-A and Kroger donated food. Coca-Cola Bottling Company provided all of the drinks and Wachovia Bank and Nalley Chevrolet gave financial contributions. The majority of the residents in this community have migrated to Atlanta from other countries within the past two years.
• Supervised a joint collaboration between Emma Hutchinson Elementary School and The Community Foundation for a grant for the PTA in the amount of $15,000. Technical assistance was also provided by our AmeriCorp VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America) staff member. The grant was awarded to the PTA.
• Supervised a joint collaboration between DeKalb Prevention Alliance and GSU called "To Catch A Falling Star". This program was designed to help boys develop life skills that make them better citizens. The program is part of an interfaith effort that the Alliance has developed.