Kenneth Cole Fellowship Program in Community Building and Social Change

2002 Community Projects

In one brief summer, the Kenneth Cole Fellows for Community Building and Social Change helped prepare a new policy for affordable housing in the city of Atlanta; helped inform the way $5 million in funds are programmed for alleviating traffic congestion and reducing pollution; helped residents of a public housing community define the health issues preventing them from achieving self sufficiency; brokered the organization of intown neighborhoods to address issues related to gentrification; and helped define an effective approach to addressing the needs of women of color affected by and infected with HIV/AIDS.

East Lake Health Initiative
One team of Cole Fellows immersed themselves in the community of the Villages of East Lake, a mixed income development in Atlanta that replaced the East Lake Meadows public housing project. While assets abound for families working to achieve economic self-sufficiency, the community needed to assess and address health issues in the community.

The Cole Fellows developed a 35-question survey, went door-to-door to meet with residents to assess their health and their awareness of resources in the community, and conducted two focus groups.

Their work resulted in an 85-page report with 29 recommendations, many of which were not difficult to implement, such as a women's support group on raising children, walking clubs, nutrition classes and more aggressive marketing by the local YMCA to get the word out on the affordability of its fitness programs.

"They knocked on a lot of doors and were outstanding in their ability to connect with residents. The Cole Fellows were just what we needed to pull together the information that now provides a blueprint for us as we move foreword with our initiative to improve the health of people in our community," says Carol Naughton, executive director of the East Lake Community Foundation.

Livable Centers Initiative
From the density of Atlanta's downtown business district, to small towns flung far and wide, one team of Kenneth Cole Fellows extensively traveled the 10-county metro-region to assess the Atlanta Regional Commission's Livable Centers Initiative, a program designed to assist communities as they develop to become more travel efficient, preserve green space and create walkable town centers.

"We have used their findings to help shape regional legislative agendas, and have made refinements internally that allow us to be more efficient in how we work with our clients," says Tom Weyandt, director of ARC. "I think they also gained a lot of knowledge and an understanding of the region they would not have experienced in the academic world."

The Fellows presented their work, including their recommendations, to the Land Use Coordinating Committee, a powerful policy-recommending committee of the Atlanta Regional Commission in August.

Preserving Affordable Housing in Atlanta
In Atlanta, there are about 9,000 small, multi-family housing units that provide vital but deteriorating sources of affordable housing. One team of Kenneth Cole Fellows spent much of their summer visiting hundreds of these units to assess their conditions. They also scoured city tax digests and other public files to document the tax and value history of the properties, and evaluated state, federal and private funding programs to develop a matrix for funding local rehabilitation efforts.

The Kenneth Cole Fellows worked with the Community Design Center of Atlanta and the Office of the Mayor of Atlanta to prepare policy recommendations and propose incentives to encourage preservation of this important housing resource.

"The city of Atlanta and the private sector will benefit from having this inventory and assessment. City officials now have the knowledge to develop policies to improve these housing units and maintain their affordability for those who need them most," says Maxwell Creighton, executive director of the Community Design Center of Atlanta."This type of work can be tough and tedious, but you have to have people who are bright and on their toes to do it accurately, and the Cole Fellows did an outstanding job."

Project LinC: Women of Color and HIV/AIDS
Working with the AIDS Research Consortium of Atlanta and other AIDS groups, the Kenneth Cole Fellows helped these organizations develop a program for women of color with HIV/AIDS. The Fellows worked to identify organizations and doctors that specifically work with this population and pinpointed the services that were available. The database of information they gathered "is a significant benefit to case managers," says Tom Garner, executive director of the AIDS Research Consortium of Atlanta.

The Fellows also interviewed executives of other HIV/AIDS service organizations to determine opportunities for collaboration as well to uncover potential barriers to implementation. They also created educational materials and made program recommendations. One recommendation resulted in a name change to more clearly identify the program: Project LinC is now known as the Metro-Atlanta Women of Color Initiative.

"The work of the Cole Fellows got us operational at least six months earlier than if we had not had them here," says Tom Garner, executive director of the AIDS Research Consortium of Atlanta.

East Central Atlanta Neighborhood Collaborative
After decades of social and economic decline, the older neighborhoods of East central Atlanta are becoming popular again. While the influx of new residents has encouraged revitalization, the neighborhoods still struggle to make themselves healthy, sustainable communities rich with safe, attractive and affordable housing options for all, including those with limited incomes.

Six community development organizations in Reynoldstown, Edgewood, the Martin Luther King Historic District, East Atlanta and Cabbagetown recognized that collaboration with one another could improve the effectiveness of their efforts.

The Cole Fellows interviewed leaders and participants, and analyzed the operations of each neighborhood group, their assets and their existing programs. The Fellows then analyzed their findings to develop a series of recommendations for collaboration that allowed the partners to identify opportunities for immediate wins while planning longer term for sustainable collaborative success.

"They really made a significant contribution to our work, and the report they created is an invaluable tool for us to use. I feel they have inspired us and given us a template to guide us as we work and collaborate with each other," says Young Hughley, executive director of the Reynoldstown Revitalization Corporation.