Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms unveiled two programs on Friday aimed at bolstering the economic futures of young, lower income residents.
The first will focus on a segment of the city’s youngest public school students. The other is for teens and young adults, some of whom have taken to traffic intersections to sell water bottles during the pandemic.
Both are employing the help of area nonprofits to administer the programs. The latter is funded with $2 million from Congress’ COVID-19 stimulus package, while the former takes advantage of $2 million from the developers of the Centennial Yards project downtown, fulfilling a campaign promise Bottoms made four years ago.
“Don’t ever say that we have allowed commerce to stand in the way of compassion,” Bottoms said during a ceremony in City Hall’s sun streaked rotunda.
The initiatives are among the outgoing mayor’s final efforts to address social and economic inequity before she leaves office in early January.
Child Savings Accounts
One program will create child savings accounts for low-income kindergarteners in Atlanta Public Schools.
Eligible students will automatically be enrolled and receive a $50 deposit in a bank account. Families will be encouraged to add to it over time. The account will be earmarked for post-secondary education, focused on college, career and related expenses.
John Hope Bryant, head of Operation HOPE, the nonprofit administering the program, said he hopes to enlist business owners and other professionals to mentor students in financial literacy. He’s also encouraging banks, corporations and others to match the city’s seed funding in separate accounts for each student so they can learn how to invest in the stock market.
“People model what they see,” said Bryant. “A wealthier family gets that naturally, because the father or the mother is talking about investments at the kitchen table.... That doesn’t happen in (low-income) neighborhoods.
“We’re basically going to create that village experience, where you have a bank account, a financial literacy training program and you have a role model and a mentor who reflects the values of the lessons you’re being taught.”
Atlanta’s not alone in pushing for child savings accounts — a growing number of cities have also funded them in recent years to incentivize education. Research suggests that even a small savings account dedicated to higher education significantly increases a child’s likelihood of attending college.
Eligibility requirements and other program details are still being worked out, but the city is anticipating enrolling about 2,400 students before the end of the school year, said Janean Lewis, the mayor’s senior director of youth engagement.
Youth entrepreneurship
Bottoms also announced plans to bolster a youth entrepreneurship program the city created to provide mentorship and job opportunities for Atlanta’s “water boys,” who have sold water at street corners and exit ramps over the last two years.
Young people age 14-24 who participate the program and stay enrolled in school will be given a $200 a month stipend on a a special debit card provided MoCaFi and MasterCard. It is being administered by the United Way of Greater Atlanta.
“We’ve been working really, really hard to put some structure around what they do to capture the spirit of what they are trying to achieve,” Bottoms said of the water boys.
Last year, Atlanta police and city officials began cracking down on the teens following a spike in shootings and arrests stemming from disputes between the vendors and drivers on Atlanta’s roadways.
United Way is partnering with a handful of groups, including Big Brothers Big Sisters, STRIVE Atlanta and the Boys and Girls Club of Metro Atlanta, to provide mentoring, career readiness and leadership training.
“Beyond simply getting somebody a job, there are a host of social benefits that come as a result of engagement,” said Milton Little, CEO of the United Way of Greater Atlanta.
The initiative has enough funding for 200 people, said Lewis, and will last through the end of the school year. This spring, the city is planning to continue some arts education and health and wellness programming for participants, who also include unsheltered youths and teens who have had some run-ins with the law.
About the Author
