Collaborative News

Join... Partners for a Prosperous Athens

The University of Georgia's Initiative on Poverty and the Economy's study on persistent poverty in the South for the U.S. Senate found that:

- More than half of Georgia's counties were found to be persistently poor;

- Athens-Clarke County, is the eighth poorest county in Georgia and the fifth poorest in the United States with more than 100,000 population; and

- One in four children in Clarke County live in poverty.

When the authors of the study suggested that the University of Georgia (UGA) partner with counties to address poverty at the local level, Tim Johnson, a coordinator for the Athens-Clarke Family Collaborative, was quick to volunteer his county.

After nine months of planning meetings, Family Connection, UGA, the Athens-Clarke County Unified Government, the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Clarke County School District established and co-convened Partners for a Prosperous Athens (PPA).

The PPA project is designed to engage the community to develop strategies to bring an end to persistent poverty and to increase individual participation in the economy.

PPA is holding community meetings to develop strategies that will break the cycle of poverty in Athens. Six committees have been formed from this community-wide initiative to focus on issues considered essential to the reduction of persistent poverty:

- Dependent Care
- Building A Diverse Economy
- Education Attainment
- Housing and Transportation
- Physical and Mental Health
- Workforce

"We have a diverse 31-member Steering Committee," said Tim. "We held our first community-wide meeting in March, drawing 750 people, and have held two meetings since. In addition to our six committees, we've also formed learning communities that include people living in poverty, employers, other communities, and teachers. UGA has donated staff for the next year to support this local effort, and we're seeking funding from a variety of sources. We see potentially tremendous value in our local effort in Partners for a Prosperous Athens, not only here, but for other communities as well."

The next community meeting is scheduled for Monday, June 26, 7-9 p.m. at Clarke Central High School, 350 South Milledge Ave., Athens.

For more details about the PPA project, visit the Join... Partners for a Prosperous Athens Web site.