Editor’s Note: This piece is written in response to a March 3 column by Maria Saporta titled Metro Atlanta is dead last when it comes to economic mobility.
It was painful to read in your recent article that, according to the most recent study by Harvard economist Raj Chetty, metro Atlanta ranks 50th out of the 50 largest U.S. metro areas for economic mobility for lower-income adults. That’s not just disappointing; it’s a signal that current approaches are failing.
It’s time for a new strategy — one that doesn’t just deliver services but transforms lives. Over the past two years I’ve volunteered with Partners in Change, a nonprofit working to break this cycle through a fresh, systems-based model that is rooted in the simple yet profound power of one-on-one, long-term relationships.
PIC doesn’t treat under-resourced adults as problems to be fixed. Instead, it recognizes them as leaders in their own lives — and supports them with trained volunteer life coaches like me who serve as thought partners, not saviors.
My PIC Member Craig and I talked weekly for one year, intentionally focusing on Craig identifying his own solutions and building up his existing capacities in goal-setting and problem-solving. Recently, Craig shared how confident he feels now. He is consistently progressing in his personal and health goals, and he knows he will achieve his business goals as well.
Important to our PIC partnership, Craig and I built a relationship of trust and came to know one another personally. Our conversations are robust with honest dialogue about Craig’s dreams and challenges, and they continue beyond Craig’s PIC one-year graduation. We have become friends, sharing meals and celebrations in each other’s homes.
Since its launch in 2020, PIC has worked with more than 500 Atlantans like Craig and many others who have big dreams but do not have enough support. The results are measurable and remarkable:
- The percentage of PIC Members earning over $30,000 rose from 43 percent before PIC to 65 percent after one year of PIC coaching
- Job satisfaction jumped from 23 percent to 67 percent
- Confidence in one’s financial future increased from 54 percent to 88 percent
These outcomes far exceed the norms of most human service programs — and they ripple outward. When individuals grow, so do families, neighborhoods and communities.
If Atlanta is serious about changing its story, it needs to move beyond traditional, transactional aid and embrace new opportunities for personal, sustained transformation.
Partners in Change offers a proven, scalable path forward for thousands more Atlantans. Ignoring it would be a missed opportunity — and a costly one — for all of metro Atlanta and its citizens.
