This Week at AHA: June 6th to June 10th

Wednesday’s groundbreaking at Atlanta’s Selena S. Butler Park was a great success and drew wide attention. Speakers included US Rep. John Lewis and AHA Vice President of Real Estate Development Trish O’Connell.

AHA played a critical role in revitalizing the park and received coverage this week in USA Today and East Atlanta Patch.

Selena Butler, according to teacherweb.com, “organized the first National Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers and co-founded the National Congress of Parents and Teachers, which is now the National Parent Teacher Association. Butler also organized the Georgia Colored Congress of Parents and Teachers in 1919 and Georgia's first African American PTA in 1911 at Younge Street Elementary School in Atlanta. Selena Sloan Butler presided over the organizing meeting, which resulted in other local units being formed in the city of Atlanta, encouraging the formation of the Parent-Teacher Council of Atlanta.”

AHA President & CEO Renee Glover will speak at the Affordable Housing Investors Council’s Summer Meeting Luncheon this Tuesday, June 14. She will offer her perspective on public/private partnerships and the current regulatory environment surrounding affordable housing. The luncheon will be held at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis.

AHA continued to prepare for its Father’s Day 2011 Initiative, set for Saturday, June 18. AHA, with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta. The event will be held at the Harland Boys and Girls Club of Metro Atlanta, 434 Peeples St. SW, from 11am to 3 pm. The day is designed to strengthen the bonds between fathers and their children and to make education, healthcare, and employment resources available to the fathers that may result in upward mobility for the entire family. The day will be filled with opportunities for fathers create stronger bonds with their children. There will be a service provider resource room for the fathers to connect with the services and resources that will address the issues and concerns acting as barriers to upward mobility and family success.

Renovations continued this week at the 13 AHA-owned communities receiving American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Capital Fund Formula money. The renovations are being made at 11 high rises that house the elderly and young disabled residents; the two other communities are designated for families. Construction continued at Marian, Juniper, Peachtree, Cheshire Bridge, and Cosby. The other properties are either getting the finishing touches to the completed spaces or are now open to the residents for use. The outfitted fitness room at Marian is complete with treadmills, NuStep, and a variety of weights. At Barge, Hightower, and Marietta residents are using the new computer labs and community spaces. The new café and kitchens are popular gathering spots too. Residents are looking forward to the TV installations later this month; movie night events will definitely have a larger turnout with the new projectors, TVs and comfortable seating. Construction at the Peachtree, East Lake, Hightower, Barge highrises will be completed in June. There will be open houses for each of the properties later this summer when work is finished.

A briefing on the evaluation of the McDaniel Glenn HOPE IV Revitalization, conducted by Emory University's Office of University-Community Partnerships, is set Tuesday, June 14, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. The evaluation, which can be reviewed here, is a look at the revitalization process and its impact on the former residents of McDaniel Glenn, local schools, and the surrounding neighborhoods. This briefing is an opportunity to review the major results of the report and entertain questions from the community about the research and will be at The Center for Working Families Inc., 477 Windsor St. SW, Suite 101, Atlanta. You may register here.

AHA’s Facebook page is open and updated frequently. Your comments are welcome, so please go here to like it and stay current with all things AHA.

The Atlanta Housing Authority is the largest housing agency in Georgia and one of the largest in the nation, serving approximately 50,000 people. AHA is committed to delivering quality affordable housing and spurring community development.