Breaking Barriers, Building Women: Economic Empowerment Program

For nearly four decades, 9to5 has been organizing women in Georgia to fight for economic justice by improving conditions in the workplace. 9to5 Georgia is a chapter of 9to5, National Association of Working Women. As a grassroots, member-led organization, 9to5 members are directly affected by the policy issues they work on every day: low-wage jobs, the erosion of a social safety net, difficulties in balancing work and family needs, inequities in part-time and temp work, unemployment, and workplace discrimination. 9to5 programs and campaigns provide a vehicle through which marginalized women work together to take action and win policy change. Funding will support The Power of Participation program, which represents the next phase of 9to5’s Leadership Development trainings and community outreach. Power of Participation will be a 9to5-branded, free tool for partners and communities to use to engage residents, ignite activists, empower leaders and build collective strength for effective advocacy.

Atlanta Habitat’s mission is to transform communities by acting as a catalyst for neighborhood revitalization through education, innovative development, partnerships, and long-term relationships. Funding will support Atlanta Habitat’s efforts to qualify 50 women for Atlanta Habitat homebuyer approval. Program goals will focus on deficiency elimination and expanded homebuyer approval, without application contingencies. Education, coaching and mentoring will also provide opportunities to develop and pursue education and professional goals for sustained social mobility and legacy building. The program will provide a direct response to the growing need to support low income women, who arrive at Atlanta Habitat accompanied by deficiencies that deny them the opportunity to be first-time homebuyers and further limit their opportunity for economic stability and social mobility.

Buckhead Christian Ministry's (BCM) mission is to provide client-centered financial assistance and financial literacy programs that lead to self-sufficiency. Their vision is a community free of hunger and homelessness. Funding from AWF will support the expansion of the Budget For Life Program. The Program helps financially vulnerable families learn to budget, pay down debilitating debt and establish habits that lead to financial security. It is an intense, six-month program that helps participants lower their debt, increase their credit score, manage their expenses and begin to increase their income. Budget for Life serves low-income women who need long-term support to become financially stable, providing graduated rent and utility assistance for six months, coupled with in-depth case management, and financial literacy and money management coaching.

Clayton State University Foundation exists to support the institutional needs and priorities of Clayton State University. Funding will support the BOOST Program; which provides child care subsidies for low income Pell eligible student parents attending Clayton State University who are parenting a child four years of age and younger. This initiative is uniquely well suited to meet the relatively large number of student parents at Clayton State University, the majority of who are single mothers. This initiative is in line with the State of Georgia’s participation in the National Governor’s Association and the Center for Law and Social Policy’s Parents and Children Thriving Together (PACTT): Two-Generation State Policy Network.

Gwinnett Tech Foundation was created to support and enhance higher education at Gwinnett Technical College. Funding will support women with children through the Office of Special Populations. Single female parents face many obstacles in obtaining and achieving a post-secondary degree. Assisting single female parents with options to help eliminate obstacles will provide them with improved employment options, reduce their poverty rate, and improve their family environment and sustainability. The grant will support: tuition/fees; books/supplies; housing assistance; childcare; transportation and food.

H.O.P.E, Inc. serves low-income single parents working to achieve their college degree. Funding will help to eliminate barriers faced by single moms in college to increase their probability of graduating with a college degree. Low-income single moms are often unprepared for unexpected emergencies, and one paycheck away from not being able to meet child care and housing needs, with the assistance they need. The H-LISP will provide rent and childcare assistance up to $400 a month when either of these situations pose a threat to the student continuing their classes. In addition, H.O.P.E., Inc. offers financial training that focuses on budgeting, emergency savings, investing, reducing debt, and student loan debt. Other areas of training include personal and life skills courses that help individuals improve their resume and interview skills, job search skills, as well as financial literacy skills. Lastly, enrollees receive emotional support via a licensed counselors and peer mentors who provide guidance with career advancement paths and opportunities.

Literacy Action’s mission is to build better futures for undereducated adults by teaching literacy, life and work skills that empower them to reach their highest potential. This grant will allow Literacy Action to launch Literacy Action’s first all-female Work Readiness Program in fall 2018. The Work Readiness program is a fifteen-week program designed for unemployed, underemployed, or low-income women who are seeking job advancement. The program builds on participants’ other Literacy Action coursework to focus on reading comprehension and mathematics skills specific to a work environment. Students also receive training in the “soft skills” necessary to navigate a working environment, such as professional image, effective communication, collaboration, conflict resolution, customer service, strategic thinking, and time management. Participants completing this program will create a digital portfolio complete with a resume, cover letter, and references, and will have access to opportunities including one-to-one career counseling, mock interviews, a Dress for Success workshop, and a Literacy Action job fair.

The mission of Nicholas House is to help homeless families achieve self-sufficiency by providing a temporary place to live while identifying and addressing the root causes of a family’s homelessness so they may never become homeless again. Nicholas House is committed to helping families attain three goals: (1) earn a living wage, (2) maintain physical, mental, and social health of parents and children, and (3) maintain their own safe and stable housing long-term. This grant will support their current efforts and expand their program by adding an Income/Employment Navigator to resolve an identified stumbling block for mothers – inability to find meaningful employment with growth potential. The position will provide individualized coaching to determine skills/goals, establish benefit income streams and help the parent in a search for an employment pathway that provides for meaningful income growth in the future, not just find a current low paying job.