SITE OVERVIEW ♦ ATLANTA | GEORGIA
Target Area: Peoplestown community • Population: 33,800
Fiscal Agent: The Center for Working Families, Inc.
Research Partner: Professor Keith Wood, Emory University
Crime Concerns: Homicides, aggravated assaults, burglary, other violent and property crimes
BCJI Funding Year: 2015 Planning
Neighborhood Profile
Located just south of central Atlanta, Peoplestown struggles with widespread social disorder, economic depression, physical blight and persistent crime. In 2014 the police zone in which Peoplestown is located saw 32 percent of all homicides in the city, 24 percent of all burglaries and 27 percent of the total aggravated assaults.
The community is 80 percent African American, 13 percent white and 7 percent Hispanic. Thirty-seven percent of households in the community live in poverty, and more than a quarter of the adults over age 25 have less than a high school diploma. Unemployment is very high, with only half of residents over the age of 16 working. While Peoplestown is served by a variety of organizations that provide support and advocacy services, the community is missing an entity that can coordinate programs and initiatives around a central plan and focus.
Planning Process
The Peoplestown BCJI planning team is investigating crime drivers and developing a continuum of solutions for the prevention, intervention and treatment of cyclical poverty and crime. During their planning process through early 2017, they will particularly examine opportunities in the following areas:
- Enhancing support services for Peoplestown residents including creating and training a coalition of service organizations and developing a referral system and outreach strategy to connect residents with appropriate services.
- Increasing academic achievement at area schools, with a particular focus on expanding extra-curricular enrichment programs and tutorial programs.
- Increase the number of adults who enter and complete educational, vocational and entrepreneurial training programs.
- Connecting residents to public or private sector economic revitalization initiatives that provide employment and entrepreneurial opportunities.
- Reducing violent crime and recidivism, potentially by enhancing Neighborhood Watch, community policing, alternative sentencing programs of the community court and reentry programs focused on job training.
Other Key Partners
The Atlanta Police Department, Mason West Group, Peoplestown Revitalization Corporation, Buckhead Community Fellowship, Talented Tenth Leadership Program, American Friends Service Center, Community Court Restorative Justice Center, The Study Hall, A Trip to Remember, Inc., The Annie E. Casey Foundation, The Art of Community.
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