From the transformation of the former Herndon Homes site into an expansive mixed-use development with plans for more than 700 mixed-income residences to the revitalization of University Homes, which includes the AHA’s newly-built, first affordable personal care facility, Oasis at Scholars Landing, the Atlanta Housing Authority has proven itself to be a committed partner in bringing quality, mixed-income housing to the Westside Community.

Atlanta Habitat for Humanity partners with working families, sponsors and communities to build affordable, green, quality homes and provide support services that promote successful home purchase and ownership.

Five Atlanta Police officers became new homeowners in 2016 as a part of the Secure Neighborhoods initiative of The Atlanta Police Foundation, Pulte Homes and The Arthur M. Blank Foundation to strengthen relationships between communities and the police that serve them. By 2020, more than 20 homes will be built for officers in the English Avenue and Vine City neighborhoods.

Modeled after Midtown Atlanta’s successful Midtown Blue, Westside Blue is the official security patrol of the Westside, created to increase police visibility in the community. The program is one of four primary components of The Westside Security Plan, a collaborative effort between the Atlanta Police Foundation (APF) and Atlanta Police Department (APD).

Operation Shield is an initiative of the Atlanta Police Foundation’s partnership with Invest Atlanta and The Arthur M. Blank Foundation. The three-pronged success formula includes integrated video surveillance with local businesses and the deployment of more than 100 cameras and license plate readers to help deter and solve crimes.

The former Head Start building (at the corner of Cameron Madison Alexander Boulevard and Griffin Street) was transformed and reopened in August 2017 as a state-of-the-art learning and community center, providing comprehensive support for young Westside residents and their families.

In 2018, the YMCA of Metro Atlanta will open its Center for Leadership and Learning on the Westside. More than a new headquarters, the Center will house a state-of-the-art model early learning center with Head Start and state-funded preschool for neighborhood children; a training center for regional staff and area nonprofits; and intentional community engagement opportunities.

A symbol of its commitment to early learning, the Center will serve as a research-to-practice hub to implement Read Right From the Start—the Y’s signature professional development program delivered in partnership with the Atlanta Speech School—on a national scale. STEAM learning will also be infused throughout classrooms and trainings.

The Center will serve as a catalyst for community revitalization: training Westside early learning providers; expanding partnerships; creating new jobs; and bringing the Y’s network of support that allows communities to sustainably transform.

Westside Works is creating job training and employment opportunities for Westside residents, having already placed more than 600 individuals in living-wage jobs with a 73 percent job retention rate. The effort is a partnership between a number of partners, including Invest Atlanta, The Arthur M. Blank Foundation and Atlanta Workforce Development Agency.

In the fall of 2016, Hollis Innovation Academy opened its doors as the Westside’s newest school. The Academy currently serves grades Pre-K through 8th grade. The school features an innovative STEM-focused curriculum in partnership with the Georgia Tech Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics, and Computing (CEISMC).

With support from Park Pride, Invest Atlanta, The Arthur M. Blank Foundation and neighborhood volunteers, the city of Atlanta revitalized and expanded Vine City Park. New facilities include an expanded playground, exercise equipment, a rain garden and micro-forest to capture water and signage to educate residents on how these features help the neighborhood.

On the site of the former E.R. Carter School, the new Families First Center offers a wide range of services focused on breaking the cycle of poverty and uplifting families. The new Center will enable the organization, the state’s largest mental health service provider, to increase the number of families it serves each year from an average of 37,000 to 200,000 by 2020.

Atlanta’s Westside neighborhoods need public open space and suffer from persistent flooding that has negatively impacted the community. A collaboration between The Trust for Public Land and the City of Atlanta will help alleviate these problems by creating a dynamic 16-acre park along Joseph E. Boone Blvd. Slated to open in 2019, Cook Park will provide sustainable venues for a variety of recreational activities while relieving local flooding by reducing the burden on the City’s existing water management facilities.

Access to medical care is a necessity, and the growing number of lower income communities suffering from poor health because of limited resources is staggering. The Healing Community Center meets this need by providing affordable, quality healthcare services to the at-risk and underserved populations of Atlanta’s Westside communities.