Families First: A Family's Impact On Homeless Children

“When a community actively supports families, then families in turn will nurture thriving, successful children who are better equipped to transform and strengthen the community” (Maxwell, Claire, personal interview, February 11, 2016). This is an ideal set by Families First, a nonprofit organization that directly address social issues in Atlanta’s own backyard. They know that “26.3% of families with children have an income that falls below the federal poverty line in Georgia”. With the economic state that these families may be in, impacts their children’s cognitive development and ability to learn. This can lead to the children’s social and behavioral problems (Data Center, 2014). By promoting facilities and resources that these families can

Starting out as an orphanage for young girls that had no family to take care of them in 1890, they grew by joining other organizations meeting similar goals and accommodating for more roles and responsibilities. By this time, they were known as Families First. Over the years there were different social issues that they wanted to address. By 1930 they had created foster homes and adoption programs for the homeless children. The late 80’s there was a rapid increase in divorce rates, so there was a need for counseling children who were coping with their parent’s divorce. Entering the 90’s Families First opened an assisted living home for young homeless mothers while educating them on subjects like child development and life skills. Throughout the years, Families Firsts have lead the way to empower children, family, and community towards self-sufficiency and interdependence. They know what it takes to make a change in a person’s life as well as how it can benefit the community. Families First currently have an informative website for anyone interested and should be utilized to find out everything needed to know about their organization. From the services and programs, they offer to the volunteering opportunities, there is a rich history throughout this agency as well as their website. Family First gain support through social media outlets such as

Many of the Board Members have other affiliations such as the Coca Cola Foundation, Amerigroup Corp, Georgia Supreme Court, Cox Enterprises, and more. Though not all of the positions in their leadership team require Management or Human Service degrees, for example, from Arts degrees to a Massage Therapist License, they all contribute their own work experiences and passions that help navigate this agency. Kim Anderson is currently the CEO of Families First and is responsible for ensuring the organization’s operation and success. She is a graduate of Oberlin College and Columbia University School of Law. Before coming to Families First Kim had worked as a Management Consultant and as a Senior Legal Counsel in the Healthcare Field. Her roles as Chief Executive Officer at Families First include guiding the Board to their singular goal that benefits the Agency’s vision and balancing the organization’s resources to properly support their program services. Kim will also monitor the concerns that may come up of a human resource or a legal issue. Keeping the agency’s staff and volunteers diverse and abiding by the agencies core values is another important job responsibility. Job opportunities are posted right on the Families First’s website where the