Secretary Carson Visits Atlanta

Atlanta regional Employees listening intently to Secretary Carson

Secretary Carson addressing the Atlanta Regional Office Staff

Secretary and Mrs. Carson, Regional Administrator Leggett and local resident tour his home City Lights Apartments

Secretary Carson, Regional Administrator Denise Cleveland-Leggett and Westside Works Leadership

During a recent tour of Atlanta HUD Secretary Ben Carson along with HUD Southeast Regional Administrator Denise Cleveland-Leggett visited with community leaders, toured affordable housing and met with the HUD staff of the Atlanta Regional Office. The two-day tour involved meeting with community leaders concerning innovative approaches to affordable housing and self-sufficiency in Choice Neighborhoods, meeting with the leadership of the Westside Future Fund and later with Purpose-Built Community leaders touring the Drew Charter Schools in East Lake, as well as, visiting the Commons at Imperial Hotel
[https://www.nationalchurchresidences.org/communities/ga/], a 90 unit state of the art housing for the homeless and City of Lights Apartments, a 80-unit, senior housing development in the Old Fourth Ward.

The Community Leaders, Westside Future Fund and Promise Built Communities meetings were characterized by and recognized for their compassionate and innovative approaches through private and public partnerships in addressing the affordability housing challenge as well as providing real hope for increased economic prosperity and educational and marketable skills in those communities of need.

"City Lights is serving as a template for the other phases" of the redevelopment of the Village of Bedford Pine, Carson said. "It's the right model. We're very enthusiastic. It's the kind of thing we can all get behind and support."

"The private and public partnerships and developments we toured are indicative of the innovative and results oriented approach that Atlanta is achieving in real time," said Leggett.

The Westside Future Fund (https://www.westsidefuturefund.org) is a not-for-profit organization of Atlanta community leaders who believe in the future of the Westside and are committed to helping the area revitalize and grow.

Purpose Built Communities (https://purposebuiltcommunities.org/what-we-do/) works to break the cycle of the intergeneration poverty local leaders transform struggling neighborhoods, and bringing together the vital components necessary for holistic community revitalization: high quality mixed-income housing, an effective cradle to college education pipeline, and comprehensive community wellness resources, organized and driven by a single purpose non-profit leader.

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