Real People, Real Stories

By identifying and working with individuals to tell their own stories, we can bring issues to life. Personal narratives can capture the aspirations of those experiencing disparities across the region and the organizations advancing racial equity.

To effectively advance racial equity it is fundamental to contextualize the available data with lived experiences and historic insights. These stories were collected by community partners and the assistance of community journalists and later enhanced with interactive data components.

In late 2021, ARCHI, in partnership with Global Dialogues, Partners for Home, Partnership for Southern Equity, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation, collected stories of residents’ experiences in Clayton, DeKalb, and Fulton counties. A common thread among the storytellers was a past or present experience of homelessness.

By listening to these experiences, ARCHI and its partners hoped to gain a deeper understanding of the context of homelessness in metro Atlanta and elevate the valued expertise of those with lived experience. Storytellers were asked to look back on their personal experiences and look ahead to their hopes and dreams. Storytellers were also asked to identify assets, challenges, and possible solutions to support them and those in their communities to live healthy, safe, stable, and happy lives.

 

Picture of an Atlanta street corner, with posters on the wall that say "Fight racism"