Today we’d like to introduce you to Cynthia Jenkins.
Cynthia, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was born and raised in Newnan, GA, graduated from East Coweta High School in 1993, GA Tech with a BS in Architecture in 1998 and currently finishing up a MS in Management and Leadership. My parents instilled in my sister and me a sense of belonging to a larger community and a responsibility to the community.
So I grew up with service as a big part of my life that continued into my college years. A design studio class took a tour of some Atlanta neighborhoods with a rep from CODA, an Olympic development entity. Along the tour, they talked about the tax incentives used in Atlanta to help revitalize the neighborhoods. I asked what happens when property values rise, taxes rise and the elderly and low-income can no longer afford to live there. They said they would have to sell and move. That was my introduction to gentrification.
The next year at Tech, I had a professor for two building construction classes. He knew I was involved in community service through a couple of organizations. He had been approached about working on a project in Vine City, a neighborhood in Atlanta. He asked if I would take it on as a class project that would count for both classes. I agreed. The project involved working with the Tyler Place Community Development Corporation and the Vine City neighborhood to create a development plan for new and renovated home construction to create affordable housing opportunities in the neighborhood. The project was supposed to take one quarter, but I worked on it for three quarters. That is where I met the late City Councilman, Ivory Young. He was a resident of the neighborhood, board chair of TPCDC and held an office in the NPU.
After I graduated from Tech, I sought a position through the Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership Fellowship Program. My first job was with Reynoldstown Revitalization Corporation headed by Young Hughley. I learned a lot about community development, neighborhood organizing and affordable housing in Atlanta. I also learned what a few strong and vocal neighbors could do to tackle issues in their neighborhood. The Hughley family and their neighbors made a lasting impression on me teaching me what true community advocacy and love for home looked like. After RRC, Tyler Place secured funding so that I could continue the work I started in college. I worked as the Development Specialist working on homes that were built on Magnolia Street and other streets near Simpson in Vine City.
As a Newnan resident, I would leave my home in Newnan everyday to go work in Atlanta, yet I live in the highest concentration of poverty in Coweta County. I began to look for ways to help at home. I formed a community development corporation in Newnan but in my youthful exuberance did not know that Newnan was not considered an entitlement city for direct HUD allotments like Atlanta. The City of Newnan would have to play a bigger role in planning and acquiring funds from the State of Georgia to promote affordable housing. After a few years of unsuccessful attempts to get the process going, I ran for City Council in 2003. In 2004 I was sworn in as the first African-American woman to the Newnan City Council. Shortly after, the City of Newnan became a Georgia Initiative for Community Housing City and participated in a planning process that led to a community housing plan and in 2008 the creation of the Newnan Urban Redevelopment Authority. In that time period, I was elected to serve as Mayor Pro Tem (Vice Mayor) by the mayor and council. During the Great Recession, the City received Federal Neighborhood Stabilization Funds from two rounds of funding to purchase foreclosed properties and increase homeownership opportunities in our city. The City partnered with the Newnan/Coweta Habitat for Humanity and the Housing Authority of Newnan to provide the service to the public.
I knew it would be a conflict of interest to serve on the council and receive funds, so I started consulting shortly. I began my tenure on the council. I eventually formed a construction and consulting company and worked on projects in Columbus, Atlanta, and Savannah. After more than a decade, I had not shaken the desire to work in the affordable housing arena. Dividing my time between my passion and my responsibilities was trying. I decided to leap into the affordable housing arena again. I sent my resume to Southern Crescent Habitat for Humanity after the Newnan/Coweta HFH Director suggested the move.
I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve in the capacity as the new CEO of Southern Crescent Habitat for Humanity serving Fayette, Clayton and Henry Counties. The organization was formed in 1986 as an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International. In my first month, the organization celebrated the completion of its 200th home and 150th home repair serving more than 350 families. To join an organization that had done a phenomenal job of working with community partners and serving families has been a great privilege. Though I live in Newnan and commute, the staff, board and local communities have been welcoming and immensely helpful. We have wonderful relationships with the City of Lovejoy, Clayton County, Henry County, City of Riverdale, the City of Fayetteville to name just a few. In addition, we have had the blessing of a wonderful relationship with the Home Depot Foundation and its veterans initiatives. They provide SCHFH with funding for veteran home repairs and special veteran projects.
We are now working on building homes in the City of Lovejoy in the Hannah Springs Neighborhood. We have built ten homes so far in the 28 lots. We have also served nearly 30 additional families with home repairs in Fayette, Clayton, and Henry since I joined the team. The biggest challenge now is looking long-term at affordable housing on the south side of Atlanta. According to study information disseminated by Habitat of Georgia, 80% of poverty in the metro Atlanta area in the suburbs. According to the data, the southside is what I call the last stand for sustainable, affordable housing in the area. I believe we have to look farther than the next year of funding for another round of houses, but at what affordable housing needs will be 20 to 30 years out. What can we do to preserve affordability yet still thrive as a region? My hope is that we are able to look at a variety of tools such land banks, zoning tools and large corporate investments on the southside for acquisition. The cost of the homes we build in our service area cost no more than the homes in downtown. The difference is the land value and in some instances minimum house size requirements. If we don’t address the long-term goals of affordable housing, gentrification will just move south and push the workers farther from Atlanta.
My personal vision aligns with that of Habitat that I believe that everyone deserves a decent place to live and that supporting low-cost, attractive, homeownership is vital to the success of our communities, our region, and our state. It is a wonderful opportunity to be able to work on this issue as Mayor Pro Tem in Newnan and as CEO of Southern Crescent Habitat for Humanity. I am glad to be part of the teams of wonderful people and organizations working to improve our region.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I have been a struggle at times. It was difficult as a young community member articulating the need to address gentrification and housing needs and the need for neighborhood needs and improvements. But eventually, we gained traction and now have improved city parks and a newly renovated school turned community center that is an award-winning historic preservation project in Newnan. Both parks house Boys and Girls Clubs and other community organizations.
At Habitat, we have worked our way through financial hardship coming out of the great recession and restructuring that has led to a leaner more efficient organization with a dynamic team that is committed to the success of our families, better relationships with our partners, funders, and community members.
Southern Crescent Habitat for Humanity – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Southern Crescent Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International. The mission is to put God’s love into action by bringing people together to build homes, communities, and hope. We support families earning between 30% and 60% of the area median income with housing counseling and financial education services, build affordable housing and conduct home repairs, and serve as the lender for the zero percent interest mortgages. We are known as the organization that uses volunteers to help build homes for partner families. Each year, hundreds of people volunteer to lend a helping hand to their neighbors in an effort to help create stability, financial security and roots for families just like their own. I am most proud that this faith-based organization is doing the work to demonstrate what love looks like in a community. We provide opportunities and tools for families to make their own success. We are set apart from other organizations in that we support the families from start to finish. We work with them to get their finances in order, build their homes and are partnered with them through to their last mortgage payment and beyond. It is a true partnership and we get to witness the results of their work and to celebrate with them.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
My proudest moments so far have been to see the opening of the Howard Warner Community Center in Newnan after 14 years of working with my neighbors to get a center. The other has been overseeing the reorganization of Southern Crescent Habitat for Humanity and connecting with the team and families. In the last year, we have witnessed family accomplishments from tearful closings for first-time home buyers to seeing a woman who grew up in a home purchased from Habitat as she was sworn in to begin her career as an attorney. And of course, we have had the joys of families walking in to make their final payments on their homes. Those are the moments we work so hard to make happen.
Contact Info:
- Address: 9570 Tara Blvd
Jonesboro, GA 30236 - Website: www.schabitat.org
- Phone: 770-477-2367
- Email: info@schabitat.org
- Instagram: schabitatfh
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/schfh/
- Twitter: @SCHabitatFH
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