Category: Poverty & Equity

Building resilient families in our community takes collaboration, creativity and innovation.  The Families First and The Urban League of Greater Atlanta collaboration which began in February 2020 to provide young, incarcerated fathers the opportunity to connect to their children is an example of creative solutions to help our families move from surviving to thriving. Sitting […]

At TechBridge, this idea drives our work. All our products, services, and programs reflect our vision of creating predictable pathways out of poverty. There are many nonprofits out there doing incredible work but not operating in the most efficient and effective way. That’s where we come in. TechBridge provides the technology systems and platforms that […]

By Dr. Valentin, director of Clinical Services at Families First.  How important is the state of wellness? In America, we put strict values in working hard, maintaining and providing for our families.  We also tend to express how we use our time and often it doesn’t sound so positive.  Wellness is a personal experiment of […]

The month of August is National Immunization Awareness Month and Families First is encouraging all Atlanta families to get the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible. Families First recently partnered with the  Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE) of Georgia to provide free vaccines to families at its Back-to-School BASH.  To help achieve the goal of […]

By Comer Yates, Renée Boynton-Jarrett & Maryanne Wolf  Comer Yates is the executive director of the Atlanta Speech School, which houses the free and universally accessible Cox Campus. Renée Boynton-Jarrett is a social epidemiologist and pediatrician at Boston University School of Medicine and the founding director of the Vital Village Community Engagement Network. Maryanne Wolf […]

When untreated mental health issues led to unemployment for Ebony Williams, she and her children became homeless. Despite the profound effects that this life experience had on all of their lives, with the help of Families First, she and her children were able to get the help they needed to get on the path to […]

By: Edward M. Valentin, Ph.D., LCSW Children across the nation are very excited to see their teachers and friends and parents are certainly ready for them to get back to a “normal” routine and be able to focus on their jobs.  We are still in a pandemic and there is a threat coming from a […]

The Back-to-School Bash on Saturday, July 24 brought together Families First, Starbucks, Kroger and Target to provide families with many of the essential resources needed to head back to the classroom safely and prepared including school supplies, groceries, and COVID-19 vaccinations. The community celebration focused on family health and education resources, and food accessibility for […]

With the 2021 school year around the corner, it is vital that families in the Greater Atlanta area have essential resources available to them so that they can return to school as safely and healthy as possible. Thanks to Families First’s partnership with Starbucks, Target, and Kroger for the Back-to-School Bash on July 24, many […]

The past year and a half of COVID-19 changed our Atlanta community and brought with it many hurdles in providing the necessary resources and supplies for our children and their schooling experience. On July 24, from 11 a.m.- 2 p.m., Families First, Starbucks, Target, and Kroger are partnering to help families be prepared to return […]

July 1 marks the start of Families First’s new fiscal year. As the world continues to open up post-COVID, a common thread that emerged is the true power of resilience. Families First believes that resilience is the foundation of building strong families and strong communities. This has been the uniting focus of our work for the […]

By Comer Yates, Renée Boynton-Jarrett & Maryanne Wolf  Comer Yates is the executive director of the Atlanta Speech School, which houses the free and universally accessible Cox Campus. Renée Boynton-Jarrett is a social epidemiologist and pediatrician at Boston University School of Medicine and the founding director of the Vital Village Community Engagement Network. Maryanne Wolf […]

By Grant T. Michelle, Families First Summer Intern  Growing up can be hard. The world seems so big and there is an endless list of options and directions your life can go, making the journey to adulthood a turbulent endeavor. Thankfully, there are other people who have previously or are currently going through those very […]

Hosted by Atlanta’s CBS46 Meteorologist Ella Dorsey, Unity for a Difference was an ambitious event that recognized distinguished contributors to Families First’s mission of building resilient families so all children can thrive.  Honorees included:  Significant moments were in abundance at Families First’s Unity for a Difference event as all of the honorees shared insights into […]

Families First supports clients at various points across the continuum of care including adoption, foster care, parenting, mental and behavioral health, supportive housing, and healthy starts. Our work is a team effort including staff, the board, supporters, and sponsors and donors.  On June 9 at 9:00 am, Unity for a Difference will bring together our supporters […]

“Always believe in yourself and never give up.” – Ms. Rose, a Shelter-A-Family resident.  Ms. Rose is discovering the importance of mental health to build resilience and successfully navigate life’s challenges. At the age of 31, Ms. Rose began her journey of homelessness. Facing the reality of living on the streets, she made the difficult […]

Families First has been “Stomping the Stigma” around mental health throughout the month of May. We started by rallying our staff and volunteers and putting their sneakers to the street to spread the word throughout Choice Neighborhoods on the Westside. Families First representatives went door to door in the Westend Neighborhood with information about behavioral […]

In tandem with finding stable employment, many caregivers and heads of household are dealing with trauma and other socioemotional challenges. That is where Families First comes in. We have developed a screening tool to assess resiliency, a person’s ability to get back out there and their readiness to face life’s challenges. For some it is […]

No one anticipated the myriad of events of the past 14 months. Some may have anticipated one or a few, but no one saw them all coming down on us seemingly at once. For many it’s felt like wave after wave has been rolling over them and they’re doing all they can to keep their […]

For Troya Lusand Underwood Jackson, Families First Program Manager, the power of resilience to change lives is very personal. Troya has been part of Families First for more than 15 years but admits that it was not until she started leading the innovative resilience work for Families First that she looked back on her own […]