During Atlanta Way Day, we will hear from four community collaborations that are working to improve our city. These powerful initiatives were chosen from a diverse group of submissions that embody the Atlanta Way spirit—innovative problem-solving, cross-sector collaboration, and bridge-building for the good of our community. From education to native plants, this year’s presenters are showing what’s possible when creativity meets connection. Discover these projects, meet the people behind them, and find ways to get involved in building a stronger, more connected Atlanta.
Project: Connecting Communities
Underserved neighborhoods often face layers of challenge—poverty, food insecurity, domestic violence, and the ripple effects of trauma.
The Connecting Communities Program delivers mental and behavioral health services directly into apartment complexes and after-school clubs, meeting families where they are.
From helping residents avoid eviction to securing protection orders for survivors of abuse, this team is breaking down barriers and building trust—one relationship at a time.
Partners: Hillside Inc. & The Boys and Girls Club of Metro Atlanta
Project: AI-Powered Mobile Wellness Project
Many cancer survivors and vulnerable families face obstacles to healthcare access—transportation gaps, digital divides, and a lack of culturally relevant support. This project brings healthcare to the community through a mobile unit equipped with AI-driven screening tools, mental health resources, and preventative care services.
Visiting churches, shelters, and food pantries, the mobile wellness team offers more than health checks—it delivers access, dignity, and hope. Future plans include multilingual AI tools, trauma-informed care, and digital health passports for long-term support.
Partners: I Will Survive, Inc. & West Cascade Medical Center
Project: Downtown Native Plant & Wellness Initiative
Downtown Atlanta is bustling with business and culture—but it lacks accessible green space and wellness infrastructure. Vacant planters, unused corners, and concrete-heavy streets leave little room for nature or community connection.
This initiative will transform underused spaces into networks of native plant gardens that boost biodiversity, reduce maintenance costs, and create pathways of wellness. By engaging property owners, corporate partners, and community stewards, they’re turning neglected spots into vibrant hubs of beauty, sustainability, and pride.
Partners: Kindred Lane & ATL DTN
Project: Community School Model
The International Community School in DeKalb County serves over 500 students representing 60+ nationalities speaking 31 languages. In 2025, it became the first elementary school in metro Atlanta to launch a Community School Model—transforming the school into a hub for academics, wraparound support, and neighborhood partnerships.
By combining rigorous education with family empowerment and community resources, ICS is ensuring every child has the tools to thrive inside and outside the classroom.
Partners: United Way of Greater Atlanta, Metro RESA, & International Community School
2025 Submissions
Project: Girl Scouts of Atlanta STEM Career focus
Despite consistent growth in STEM fields and their position among the highest-paying careers, women remain significantly underrepresented. When girls don’t see themselves in STEM professions, they have less confidence in believing there are STEM careers they can pursue.
According to the Pew Research Center: 25% of computing jobs and 15% of engineering roles are held by women. In engineering, just 5% of jobs are held by Black, Latina, or Hispanic women. And while women make up nearly 30% of entry-level STEM roles, they account for only 12.4% of C-suite positions, according to the World Economic Forum.
However, Girl Scouts is committed to improving these numbers and works closely with volunteers and community partners to provide opportunities for girls to experience STEM early in a hands-on, fun, and supportive environment, which leads to learning and career exploration. Introducing girls to STEM concepts while in elementary school has been shown to increase not only skills, but also the self-confidence to pursue additional STEM education and careers.
It is through vibrant and meaningful partnerships that we will continue to reach girls at all stages of her development. This STEM "village" not only provides vital education but sparks imagination, and inspires all girls to dream bigger and bolder.
Project: GFADP Educational Campaign
Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (GFADP) addresses the deep-rooted injustice of capital punishment in Georgia—a system that disproportionately targets poor people and communities of color, is riddled with errors, and fails to provide real healing or safety for victims' families.
Georgia has a long and troubling history with the death penalty, including racial bias in sentencing, inadequate legal representation, and the execution of people with intellectual disabilities or severe mental illness. Despite a national decline in the use of the death penalty, Georgia continues to pursue it, even as costs rise and public confidence in the justice system erodes.
GFADP works to expose and challenge this broken system by centering the voices of those most directly impacted—family members of the incarcerated, death row exonerees, murder victims' family members, and faith and community leaders. Through education, advocacy, and coalition building, we seek to shift public opinion, influence policy, and ultimately abolish the death penalty in Georgia.
This work is not just about ending executions—it’s about transforming our justice system into one that values accountability, redemption, and human dignity.
Partners: Georgians For Alternatives to the Death Penalty & Witness To Innocence
Project: Inclusive Procurement Transformation
The Indou Group is a policy-forward business development and advocacy firm with a mission to close opportunity gaps for underserved businesses and communities through strategic compliance support, government contracting readiness, and public-private partnerships.
Metro Atlanta experiences persistent challenges and that offers opportunities to fill business development and advocacy gaps such as:
Displacement & Gentrification
Rapid redevelopment without safeguards for legacy residents and businesses Barriers to Government Contracting
Minority-, women-, and veteran-owned businesses face systemic obstacles accessing local government opportunities
Regulatory Blind Spots
Small businesses and community orgs often miss or misunderstand key policy changes that affect funding and compliance
Workforce Misalignment
Disconnect between job creation and equitable career pathways, especially in tech, logistics, and green infrastructure
Food Insecurity & Urban Sustainability
Persistent food deserts in predominantly Black neighborhoods alongside climate resilience concerns
Inclusive Procurement Transformation Impact: Create a more equitable public procurement ecosystem that increases wealth-building opportunities for marginalized businesses.
Partners: The Indou Group
Project: The Roof Museum x Raising Georgia's Roof (Initiative with The City of South Fulton)
The skilled trades—especially roofing—are facing a critical shortage of trained professionals, and nowhere is that more evident than in cities like Atlanta. Too often, young people aren’t exposed to the trades as a viable, rewarding career path, and existing programs lack the visibility, support, and hands-on opportunities needed to inspire the next generation. At The Roof Museum, we’re addressing this challenge head-on by expanding access to educational programs, workforce development, and community resources that equip aspiring roofers with the skills, mentorship, and confidence they need to succeed. We’re proud to be working with cities like South Fulton to bring 7-week training courses directly to students—giving them a tangible pathway into the trades, guided by real industry professionals. Our goal is to build a robust pipeline of talent right here in Atlanta—empowering youth, strengthening the local economy, and preserving the craft of roofing for generations to come.
Our goal is to create lasting impact by expanding access to roofing education and career pathways for young people in underserved communities. Specifically, we aim to increase the number of trained, job-ready individuals entering the roofing industry in Atlanta, with a focus on youth development, economic mobility, and trade visibility. Through our 7-week training courses, partnerships with cities like South Fulton, and hands-on learning experiences, we hope to spark new interest in the trades, reduce the skills gap, and elevate roofing as a respected and viable career choice. This is a new initiative and marks our first time working with official city funding and programming, making it a critical step in scaling our impact.
Partners: The Roof Museum + South Fulton
Project: Affordable Housing Solutions
Open Doors works to connect our non-profit partners seeking affordable housing for those exiting or at risk of homelessness to the property owners and management companies that have affordable, sustainable affordable housing.
Since inception, Open Doors has helped welcome home almost 13,000 individuals, veterans and families to affordable housing. By working from a top-down approach we are able to help lower the common barriers of poor credit, previous evictions, rental and utility arrears and previous convictions that far too often keep those that need housing homeless. We strive to offer housing choice for our most vulnerable neighbors.
To date, Open Doors works to connect over 750 properties and 200 management companies to our 160 non-profit partners. We are honored to serve as the bridge between the real estate community and the non-profits that very much need access to housing. The almost 13,000 individuals, veterans and families welcomed home to safe, affordable and sustainable housing are the best examples of true success that this type of collaborative can bring to the Atlanta region.
Partners: Atlanta Real Estate Collaborative + Open Doors
Project: HouseATL
Housing affordability challenges in the 5 core county of Atlanta are continuing to escalate as our population grows and the housing supply does not match the demand. People's incomes are squeezed as the housing cost burden has increased from 24% (2017) of household incomes to 27% (2023). When transportation costs are included as our commute times increase, that looks more like 40-60% of household incomes. While there has been a lot of progress on affordable housing development in recent years, we are far from closing the gaps. Although housing is a challenge for people across the income spectrum, people who are the most vulnerable are experiencing an extreme lack of choices - unhealthy housing, poorly managed extended stay hotels, sleeping in vehicles, etc. Our state and local governments rely very heavily on federal resources to support affordable housing development and services for people who are low-income. With federal cuts, state and local resources and regulatory improvements are more critical than ever.
Additionally, HouseATL works with local governments and local stakeholders to educate and advocate for the expansion of local affordable housing tools such as zoning reform, housing trust funds and opportunity bonds, land trusts and land banks, repurposing of public land, etc. We measure success by the increased engagement of local stakeholders and positive policy and systems changes.
Project: ATLlink
Many students in Atlanta face challenging circumstances that increase their risk of negative outcomes and disciplinary action. Our initiative, ATLlink, will link students facing disciplinary challenges and their families to restorative care. Restorative care for students refers to practices that aim to repair relationships, promote positive interactions, and help students take ownership of their actions after conflicts or disruptive behavior. We are a network of experts and organizations dedicated to helping students heal and grow, serving as a personalized entry point to a range of supportive and restorative services. Similar to a trauma response network customized to the needs of out target students and their families.
For the 2025-2026 school year, ATLlink will pilot by connecting APS students at increased risk of adverse experiences to behavioral, social, and emotional support after serious (Level 3) infractions resulting in 10+ days of out of school suspension. Additionally, Parents/Guardians seeking urgent support for high risk behavior can voluntarily access ATLlink - no disciplinary infraction required.
Partners: Atlanta Public Schools + The Urban Advocate
Project: The Moves You Make and the Song You Play Determines the Path You Take
Youth in metro Atlanta are being derailed by poor decision-making, violence, and lack of mentorship. With limited access to positive outlets and guidance, many are on a fast track to incarceration. Our city must disrupt this pipeline with engaging, life-affirming programs that change minds and lives.
Be Someone, Inc. and Life Muzic Group LLC are partnering to deliver a groundbreaking community solution that stops violence and redirects youth toward success. Using life-sized chess and original, positive music, this joint initiative teaches young people that “the moves you make and the song you play determines the path you take.”
Partners: Be Someone, Inc+ Life Muzic Group
Project: The Forest in a City
When you search for "urban green space" online, you'll find an array of inspiring stories about abandoned lots transformed into parks filled with bikers, walkers, and festival-goers. These spaces undeniably bring communities together. Yet, beneath the aesthetics of manicured lawns, concrete paths, and neatly trimmed bushes lies an important question: Are these revitalized spaces truly benefiting the environment-or merely replacing one type of unsustainable development with new ones?
In 2016, a report by The Trust for Public Land, City Parks, Clean Water, revealed that many traditional park designs fail to manage stormwater effectively. Though grass may seem eco-friendly, compacted urban soil often repels rain like asphalt, causing runoff that picks up pollution and sends it to the nearest storm drain. Even acclaimed projects like Atlanta's Old Fourth Ward Park, despite its successes in flood control and economic revitalization, still relies heavily on impervious surfaces and expensive maintenance.
True urban revitalization must move beyond turf and concrete. Grass sequesters little carbon, while paved surfaces not only shed rainwater but contribute to urban heat islands. Worse, the production of concrete alone accounts for 8% of global carbon emissions, outpacing even aviation. This model of supposed "good" will never offset the bad.
Partners: Root Local + GreenBox Homes