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Backgr.:::; ,rnd intormation for: START .NOW ATLANTA Atlanta, the capital of the Southeast, is known for its growing economy, beautiful homes and fine universities. For most of its citizens Atlanta offers growth, vitality and prosperity. But for 160,000 Atlantans this is not true. They live in 40,000 unfit dwellings in neighborhoods with names such as Vine City, Cabbagetown, Lig h tning, Summerhill, Mechanicsville and Buttermilk Bottom, only minutes from downtown Atlanta, but decades away from the mainstream of Atlanta's progress. The social, economic and ethnic character of Atlanta 1 s population is undergoing profound change. Middle-class families are moving to the suburbs, leaving behind in the central city area an increasingly large concentration of unemployed, underemployed, poorly educated, low-income families. Some of the residents of the central city are long-time hard core slum dwellers. Added to this group are thousands of rural "in-migrants" who move to Atlanta yearly from surrounding states. Crowded into deteriorating housing and alien surroundings, the newcomers from deprived rural areas join the residents of the central city in a lonely, miserable existence characterized by restricted opportunities and despair. Most are unskilled. Many are illiterate, lacking the most basic skills in reading, writing and arithmeti~. Many are unable to fill out job applications , read street or bus s igns, or follow written work instructions. F inding no work and little hope, the family unit disintegrates as individuals break and flee or fathers move out to allow their families to qualify f or public assistance. Desertion, divorce, crime, delinquency, unemployment and dependency . follow. Who are the poor in Atlanta? They are young men , like the 21 y ear old holding two jobs, neither pa y ing more than $1.25 an hour, to support h is wife and four chi ldren. A loan company is now thr e aten i ng to garnishee his wages because he missed payments on m9ney borrowed to buy Christmas toys for his children. One of his ch i ldren had pneumoni a. Tremedicine and additional coal to heat his room~ took all he had . The poor are wome n, like the 33 ye ar old mother supporting three ch i ldren. She ea rns $2 8 .00 a week and pa ys $1 2. 00 a week rent on th ree rooms. She must lea ve her children alone at home while s h e works because there are no free da y care centers near her neighborhood. The poor are old, like the 76 yea r old man l ivin g a lone i n one room, ex±sting on canned tomato juice and wieners which a neighbor brings every six or seven weeks. He is paralyzed. No one else ever comss to see him. The poor are parents, l ike the mother and father struggling to feed eight chi ldren . The fa ther drove a garbage truck for a private firm where his take home pay was $58 . 00 a week. Sometimes he slept in the truck when he mi ssed the one ride that took him near his home, some 18 miles away . One night a policeman came there to tell him that his 8 month old daughter had died of malnutrition �-2- that afternoon. The ma ~ is ~ow blind. He ~o lon ger watches his oldest son draw beautiful pictures --- a son who will never have a chance to dev elop this talent because he must quit school and feed his famil y . Who are the people living in Atlanta ; s slums? A study of 4 7 ,000 people, 1 6 t h rough 75 years of age, living in poverty neighborhoods served by EOA centers, found that: More than 2/3 of all unemployment in t h e Atlanta Metropolitan area is concentrated in these low-income areas. 77% 52% 82% 57% 7% 12% 11% 22% earned less than $3,000 a y ear. of all hou seholds were headed b y women. were Negroes. of the adu lts d id not g raduate from high school. h ad n o formal ed ~cation . needed medical aid to remove a work handi cap. claimed no job skill , or only farm work as exper ience. of the whites and 25% of t h e Negroes were seeking work. Of t~ose seekin g work, 75% were women. 65% of all seeking work were Negro women. 34% of the white women and 30% o f the white men desired additional vocational trainin g . 75% o f the Negro women and 6 1% o f the Negro me~ wanted add i tional vocatio~al training. The need for jobs, or better jobs, isa major topic of conversation in Atlanta's slums. The EOA centers are in daily contac t with thousands who do not earn e nough to support th e ms e l ve s and the ir famil ies b e ca u s e t hey ar e un e mploy ed, und e remploy e d or und e rpaid. Sev enty -two percen t of all people coming to EOA ne ighborhood centers want jobs , t h ough most need many other EOA services before they are prepared for stea dy e mployment . ~ At th e s ame t i me, Atlanta employe rs beg for people with the skills th ey ne e d to run th e ir bus i n es ses. Un e mp l oyment was t e s bo t h h uman a nd e conomic pote nt i al. At the lowest lev el, each man-y ear of unemploy ment costs t he economy at least _$2,500-.~3,000_ in lost wages or products. I f the per capita income o f t he h ard core un e mploy ed in Atlanta could be ra i sed just $100 e ach ye a r durin g a working l ife time, th ere wou l d be an a d d iti ona l $28 mi l lion i n jected i nto t h e economy . If t h a t in come c o u l d be rais e d to t h e i n c ome l eve l of t h e ave r age Atl anta n, Atlanta b u sine s s wou l d b ene f it f rom an a d ditiona l $4 5 0 mi ll ion o f purch as i ng powe r . Tr. e se ar e just the extra - earning bene fits. Add to th i s t h e mill ion s s aved on welfare (be t ween $75 ,000 - $ 100 , 0 00 to suppor t a fami l y durin g a l i fe t ime ) , u n e mp l o ymen t p a y ments, crime ( some $ 2 , 50 0 p e r y e a r to k eep a man in ja i l), an d hund red s of agen c ie s , serv ices and programs a i med at d e aling wi th or elimi n a t ing th e se �prob l ems , and t h e figure would probab l y double or trip l e . Part of the cit v 's recent Commun it y Improvement Prog ram s tud ,, dea l t wit h ~1 o b s -- :-,ow ma ri \' t :1ere a re L "' certa i~-: c a t egar ie s a , d pro j ectioc, s of ~,.;b at t '. - _ e si L :a tio n will b e i n t l-: e y ear 1983 if prese n t tre nds continue . For examp l e , by fo u r of e v er y ten n e w j o bs will be in t he Cit y of Atlanta . i f present tre n ds con ti n~ e , t h ese new jobs will b e divided amo::g g o v er :-: me n t , fi 11 a ;~ ce, i"s c.1 ra,-,ce a u d re a l estate - w;, i te c o lla r jobs . None of the new jobs will be in manufactur i ng or i n who l e s al e t r ade and dis t ri bu tio '- . It is necessar y to look a t po p u l at ion fi gu res f rom t h e same re por t to see h ow t h ese trends will affect Atlunta . By 1983 the Ne g ro popu lation will i n crease b y 62 percen t, the whi t e pop u .::.ation b y four percent . Well ove r "alf bf tlle cit y ' s population will be Negro an d more t han half of t he Neg r o p opu l ation wil l be under ?O or o v er 54 . Over 40 perce n t of t h e Negro fami li es livi Dg in t h e city i n 198 3 are expected to ~ ave annual f~mil y in come s b elow $ 5 , 000 . 1 TO SUM UP , t h ese CIP f i g ures s h ow t h at: FlRST , Job growth will be i n wh ite co l lar o ccupatio ~s. NEXT, pop ul ation will cons i st of people unqua l ified for ~h i t e c o lla r jobs, by c u rre ~ t s t and ar d s . NEXT, d own t o wn ret a ilin g wil l h e sup p o rt ed ~ ~· a pr epo n d e ra nce of fami lies wi t 1: po v erty - le v el i .·c:nnes, and f'I~~ALLY , Atlar;ta · s g ro wt. ~, p o L_e11 tia l wil.]. o e impossi b le to realize unless established trends are c hanged. This g ap between ric h and poor is affecting Atlanta at ever y le v e l . The extent of the gap comes as a shock to most. A recent study of social blight in Atlanta b y- our Communit y Council s how s the disparity clearly . Th e Council found tha t if ~-o·-1. live i ,_ o .:.e of Atlar, ta • s u p p er in c ome areas y ou share an acre with six others; if y ou live in a downtown slum y ou share an acre with 56 others. The council found that a baby born to sl u m pare ~ t s ~ as o ~ l y h alf t 'J e c 1:' a n ce of s u r v i vi u g as an infant in the highest income areas . The tuberculosis rate is five times higher among slum adults than for ad u lts on the Northside. Th e same trend follows in juvenile delinque n c y accordin g to t h e Co ur; cil . In Vine Cit y t he juv enile arrest rate is si x times higher than in Buckhead. J uv e n ile pr ob lems ~re complex.

'~" : · ·;c=:t :,,· se v ere deprivation, children represent one of the

greatest tragedies of poverty . The c y cle of pub l ic dependenc y and failure repeats itself a s the y grow up little bet ter equipped than their pare ~ ts t o cope wit ~ t ~e dema nd s of urban lif e . ~ �-4- Man y of th e c hildren li ve in broken homes. One ou t of four children in At lanta live with only one parent. In ou r slums the figure would be mo re like one - ha lf t o two -thirds . Mo st of t hes e parents work. Tho se who e a rn l ittle cannot a fford da y care and the EOA and United Appeal centers for poor children can handle only i,200~ The rem a ining 12,00 0 c h il d ren h av e n o w~ ere t o go . Often they are left alo n e at home or i n tne str eets because p a rents have no alternati v e. Troub le is ne ve r far away . One out of six Atlanta y ouths wi ll b ecome j uv enile delinquents with in one y ear. The school li v es of these children are marked b y poor attendance, low achieve ment and fail u re. Th e y come from homes without books, pencils or pri va cy. No a d J l ts are ~ailable to g u i d e and encourage t he c n ildren. The y are dulled by low protein diets. Obviously the y cannot benefit from e v en t h e bes t education, if available, unless some of t hese ~ eed s are co rrected. I t mu st b e stre sse d t ~at p oor p are~t s care v er ~· de e pl y about their c hildre n . Bu t t n e y can onl y d o what is pos s i b le, a nd that is not muc r.. These are s o me of the serious and tr agic pro o lems confronting us. Th e city go v ernment, Churches,United Appeal agencies and other pu b lic and private agencies perform hundreds o f v i ta l services. Th e ~' do a n ou tstandin g job . The Nat ion a l Al liance of Bus in essmen u~ de r A . H. Stern e, t h e Ch amb er of Commerce, t h e J aycees, and pri va te business are making tremendous progress in opening jobs, changin g attitudes, and training the unemplo y ed so the y can .b ecome part o f Atla n ta . I n 1 96 4 the city and co un t y go v ernments pa v ed t h e way for Atlanta to recei v e an t i - poverty f unds . Because o f t heir quick action Atlanta recei v e d on e of t~ e first u r b a ~ g r a~ts u nder th e Eco n omic Oppo rt unity Act of 19 6 4. From t he ~eg i ~~ i ~g . Atlan ta ' s antiJpov erty agenc y , Econ omic Opportun ity -Atl anta, o r EOA , ha s been one of the outstanding programs in the c o un try . Mayor Allen praises EOA ' s contrib u tion to the city and credits it with h elpin g keep Atlanta peacefu l l a s t s u mme r. Led b:/ Boisfe u illet Jo:-1 es as C~ airma ::. of t :-:. e Boa r d a :--"d J im Par h am as Exec u ti v e Ad mi n istrator, EOA nas he lped th ousand s lift themselv es out of pov erty . .... During the past 12 months more t ha n 5,000 people h ave been placed on jobs b y e mp l o y ment couns el ors in the 14 EOA neig hbo r hood centers ... 330 school dropouts were employ ed t h r ough the Neighborhood Yo u t h Corps ... 80,000 :-:.o ~ rs of parttime wo rk were available for y ouths last summer . .• 1 , 100 boys have been recruited for Job Corps traini ng ... l,048 people h a v e rec ei ved emp lo y ment �-5- training . .. ... Twelve EOA day care centers have provided two-thirds of all available "public" day care slots in Atlanta (800 of approximately 1200JEOA neighborhood centers helped poverty residents develop youth centers in five neighborhoods with sparse recreational facilities . • . 2,300 children benefited from Head start . ... Legal services supported with Economic Opportunity funds have successfully challenged antiquated welfare regulations and given a new degree of equity to the poor in their dealings with those who exploit their ignorance ... the Comprehensive Health Center is providing preventi ve medical se r vi ces to 28,000 residents of one inn er-city slum ... Planned Parenthood with a large share of funds from EOA is h elping 7,500 women t h roug h nine centers . .. Seni or Citiz en Services, largely through EOA support, provides counseling, recreat ion, training and tra nsportation to 2,500 aged participants monthly. . . 4 0 senior citizens work in the Foster Grandparents program providing tender lov.ing care to c hildren at Grady Hospital , t he Fulton Juvenile court and Carrie Steel Pitts Home . . . • Aides in 14 EOA neighborhood service ce.n ters have contacted 25,596 poor persons during t h e past 12 months .. • 15,7 6 3 requests were received for social services .. • total attendance at mor e than 2,000 neighborhood meetings during the past 12 months was 124, 260 and provided a badly n eeded means of expression and communication for t h e poor . .• count less acts of kindness have he lped relieve- immed iate distress. The anti-poverty program ha s don e much more . I t h as demon strated th e success of the first really new idea in social welfare since 177 6. That new idea a mounts to one little preposition, but it has revoluti6nized old methods . In stead o f doing things FOR and TO poor people, EOA has shown t h e success o f workin g WITH people to help them solve their own problems . EOA is not another ha ndout program . It simply offers opportunities for education, training, and services. And mo st i mportant of all, the poor help plan e very program. Some 200 neighborhood b lock clubs and their elected repr esentativ es to EOA commi ttees attest to the success of this idea. Since 19 64 the poor in Atlanta have spent mo re voluntee r hours t rying to i mprove th e ir l ives than a ll other volunteers together. The i mportance they attach to this n ewopportunity was shown l ast year when 12,000 poo r people, most of whom had never voted, came to crowded �groce r y s tor es. ;__.a r .ce r s ,·,ops a11d ne ig, 1oo r 11ood ga t. n er in g places to vo te for their representative s t o EOA committees . Of c ou rse , n o one a r gues t h at th ese pr og rams n a v e o een totall y s u ccessf li l. Muc n na s oe en learne d , ~ : t we still face to ugh probl ems s ucri as devel oping addi tional i~adership among the poor . mot i va ting t he ha rd core unemplo yeL!, stretch ing limited dollars a nd u s ing t n em most effectivel y , c~an g ing detrimental policies an d law s , c ha nging per sonal a ttitudes and involv ing more of Atlanta 's cit izens in these effor ts _ Du ring EOA ' s past four y e a rs, $3 0 , 000,000 in federal mone y ha s been made a va ilable t o h elp li ft thousands of Atlantans o u t of pov erty. On l y appro xima te l y $500 , 000 :,as oeen al located b y o u r city and coun t y g ove rnments. Fur t h er progress in sol v ing Atlanta ' s problems will depend o n t h e interest of Atlanta ' s citize n s. Th e week of J·an u a .r y 1 2 .. a s k, een proc la imed ST.AR'!' NOW A'l'LA N'rA week to ·..;. r g e At.lan t a;. ' s t o .:..ean~ a,.:,G,_: t.: o ... r ci ·t:.:- ' s pro cl ems, wh at t r1e poor ·:-,a v e d o:ne for t :.e mse l. ,, es and w .at we ca c, do to :. elp t n em. BOA is read y t o l en ci a :.a nci . '-.., roups or indi vi d u als wh o want to v isit p overt y areas a s g u ests 0 £ p oo r peopl e or wno wa nt to vo l u nteer in new wavs can do s o b y ca ll ing EOA at 5 2 5- 4262 . �