Programs & Partnerships

Jerusalem House

The Buckhead Cascade City Chapter has had a relationship with Jerusalem House for nearly 20 years. Jerusalem House provides a continuum of housing and supportive services for homeless and low-income individuals, families, and children affected by HIV/AIDS and leads the community in meeting their needs. BCCC works with Jerusalem House through a number of projects to help women and their children overcome barriers to economic independence and empowerment. According to the Centers for Disease Control, African-American women make up 60 percent of all new HIV cases among women. With a poverty rate of 22.4 percent, Atlanta is estimated to have about approximately 115,000 people living in poverty. Atlanta’s poverty rate is higher than the national poverty rate of 13.2 percent and higher than the poverty rate for the state of Georgia, which is estimated to be 14.3 percent. BCCC will continue to work to help Jerusalem House to help provide housing to low income and homeless women impacted by HIV and AIDS. BCCC will assist to help Jerusalem House to spread the message that housing is healthcare. Discussions as to how the BCCC’s members could become more involved in impacting these concerns have been ongoing and preliminary queries have resulted in concrete information upon which the Chapter can continue to build its programmatic initiatives for Jerusalem House. The primary mission of the Chapter with regards to Jerusalem House are to assist African-American women on the road to self sufficiency and to promote self esteem and self confidence in African-American youth and teens. The goal(s)/objective(s) of the program are the following:

  1. To educate the Atlanta community on the issues facing low income and homeless women and their children with HIV/AIDS and to present programming that helps create solutions to those issues.
  1. To foster self esteem and self confidence in youth and young adults as a prevention mechanism to poverty, disease, and victimization.
  1. To assist women on the road to self sufficiency in order to strengthen African-American families.

BCCC will continue to initiate projects to provide a better understanding of the effects of poverty, HIV/AIDS, and homelessness on women, children, their families, and the community. Chapter members have engaged City officials and community leaders to develop a program that helps build awareness of the issues and also provide resources to Jerusalem House.

For example, BCCC has engaged in a series of initiatives, such as career workshops, relationship workshops, self esteem workshops, and mentoring in an effort to assist the Jerusalem House residents on the road to self-sufficiency.

Ladies First Program – The “Ladies First Finishing Academy” is a character curriculum that includes comprehensive activities for 8 weeks for middle school and high school girls. Lessons include character building instruction, activities, and field lessons designed to strengthen morals, improve social skills and increase respectfulness while educating them about domestic engineering (home economics) and relationships. The girls learn and grow with Buckhead Cascade City Chapter mentors and experts in the art of being a Lady First as part of the national mentoring initiative.

Umbrella/Integrated program sessions include:

  • Career Training: “What To Be” in collaboration with the National Trends and Services program Facet
  • College Connections: “Journey To Higher Education & the World” in collaboration the International Trends and Services program Facet
  • “You Are What You Eat” in collaboration with the Health and Human Services program Facet
  • “First Impressions” in collaboration with the ARTS program Facet
  • “Whole Mind, Whole Body” in collaboration with the Health and Human Services program facet

C.A.U.S.E. for Elegance (Phipps Plaza) co-sponsored the umbrella program, and the intergenerational “Crowning Presentation to Society” Tea was held at First Congregational Church with young ladies’ families.

Solomon’s Temple – In an effort to reach underserved, homeless children, we have partnered with Solomon’s Temple, a homeless shelter that provides women and their children, including boys above the ages of 11, with temporary housing, meals, financial literacy and youth programs to help them as they seek employment and permanent housing. This partnership allows us to reach up to 60+ children on a monthly basis with STEAM Literacy and experiments.

Solomon’s Temple is dedicated to the eradication of homelessness by empowering women and their children to overcome life’s challenges, realize their potential, define their own destiny and become vital factors in the revitalization and sustainability of their community. Offering a 130 residential facility for homeless women and their children, the holistic emergency and transitional facility provides families in transition a peaceful setting to move toward stability.

Book Nook: “Today a Reader, Tomorrow a Leader” – The chapter has established fun interactive monthly STEAM read alouds with children in grades K-12 at Solomon’s Temple to increase interest in reading and to stimulate STEAM career opportunities.