News Release - Mayor Warren Visited Purpose Built Community in Atlanta

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City of Rochester

News Release

(Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016) — Mayor Lovely A. Warren returned today after two days in East Lake, Atlanta—a neighborhood of Atlanta, GA. The Mayor was joined by Holli Budd, Executive Director of the Farash Foundation; Dr. Shaun Nelms, Superintendent of East High School; Lashunda Leslie-Smith, Executive Director of Rochester’s Connected Communities; and other local officials to tour the Purpose Built Community there. The Mayor intends to bring the Purpose Built Community model to Rochester.

“I am very excited about the prospect of creating a Purpose Built Community in Rochester because I have seen how successful it is in revitalizing a similar urban neighborhood in Atlanta,” said Mayor Warren. “When it comes to breaking the cycle of poverty, we have to try something different—and the ‘purpose built’ model works. I have no doubt that this model can help us provide better job opportunities for residents, safer, more vibrant neighborhoods and better educational opportunities for our residents.”

“The Purpose Built Communities team was pleased to host Mayor Lovely Warren and members of the Connected Communities team for a site visit to the East Lake neighborhood,” said Shirley Franklin, former Mayor of Atlanta and now Executive Board Chair, Purpose Built Communities. “Purpose Built’s mission is to work with leadership teams in communities around the country to help those communities break the intergenerational cycle of poverty at the neighborhood level. We are very excited to continue learning about the opportunities for transformational revitalization in Rochester and to continue exploring how the Purpose Built model might be tailored for implementation in Rochester.”

“Creating a cradle to college education and career pipeline is a critical component of Purpose Built Communities. We look forward to building classroom spaces to accommodate 21st Century learning and community engagement,” said Dr. Nelms. “East is poised to expand our partnership with the Rochester City School District and to collaborate with School 33, Connected Communities and the Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative to address the critical needs of our community.”

“Connected Communities has been engaged with Purpose Built Communities for some time now,” said Leslie-Smith. “As we examine what residents in the Beechwood and EMMA neighborhoods have asked for, safe streets, affordable housing, good schools, and jobs, Purpose Built provides a wonderful framework to help our neighborhoods achieve those goals. It was exciting to visit a community that was once plagued with poverty, crime and devastating educational outcomes, to see firsthand what can happen through a public/private partnership. The possibilities are endless!” The mission of Connected Communities is to break the cycle of poverty and revitalize the EMMA and Beechwood neighborhoods.

The Mayor and her group toured the Charles Drew Charter School and heard a presentation on the Purpose Built Model and Connected Communities. They also visited the local YMCA, an early learning center and an urban Atlanta neighborhood.

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News Media: For more information, contact Press Officer Jessica Alaimo at 428-7135.