Connecting Communities and Families has been providing job readiness skills, job placement, computer training, GED assistance, parenting education, financial literacy, vocational skill building and outreach services for over 10 years for African American mothers on TANF who reside in the Ashview Heights, Atlanta University Center, English Avenue and Vine City neighborhoods known as the Westside Promise Zone. Connecting Communities and Families’ success is built upon its 80% participant completion rate and 85% participant employment rate among high risk multi-generational TANF recipients. To date, Connecting Communities has served more than 1,000 clients.
Due to the multiple needs of the clients, Connecting Communities has also implemented a Family Life Center that provides healthy relationship training, and educational classes to meet the social, emotional and mental health needs of children to prevent child abuse, and family support networks for continued empowerment.
Mrs. Palmer was spiritually led to begin Connecting Communities and Families after working with her church, Ebenezer Baptist Outreach Ministry, to help unemployed community members. After witnessing the detrimental effects of poverty, she realized that more help was needed. Therefore, she made it her mission to create an organization that would solely be devoted to alleviating poverty by educating and training individuals at the highest risk. Mrs. Palmer holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Media Arts from Morris Brown College and a Master of Science in Human Resources Management degree from Troy University, which provided a solid foundation for this endeavor.
Since the agencies inception, she has partnered with local agencies/companies to conduct job readiness workshops, abstinence/parenting classes, and capacity building to help a variety of businesses across multiple industries manage their day-to-day operations. In 2014, Connecting Communities and Families received Future Foundations, Award for Outstanding Community Partnerships.
The agency has also been honored for Outstanding Community Leadership by Females from Wholistic Stress Control Institute, Inc. for the past three years. In addition, Rolling Out Magazine highlighted Connecting Communities and its participants during the Back to School Event at Macy’s in August 2016.