Worth Knowing: A conversation with Community Assistance Center CEO Francis Horton - Rough Draft Atlanta - Reporter Newspapers + Atlanta Intown

One of the astir respected non-profits successful our country is the Community Assistance Center (CAC), which works to forestall homelessness, alleviate hunger and beforehand self-sufficiency successful Dunwoody and Sandy Springs.

Founded by 10 section congregations successful 1987 arsenic the Community Action Center, CAC was initially tally chiefly by volunteers retired of a religion Scout. Tamara Carrera became its part-time CEO successful 1997. That year, CAC served 280 families with a $24,000 yearly budget. In 2021, CAC helped 5,600 individuals and saved 856 families from eviction, with a full of 24,000 households helped since 1987.

As a erstwhile committee member, I knew Tamara. When she announced she would discontinue successful 2021, I couldn’t ideate however anyone could capable her shoes. I was wrong.

Her successor, CEO Francis Horton, took implicit successful February 2021, aft spending much than 30 years starring planetary alleviation programs helping families successful immoderate of the poorest countries successful world. How could a newcomer adjacent with his credentials travel successful her footsteps erstwhile helium was caller to the area, had fewer connections and astir of his unit were inactive moving from home? 

“We’re approaching 35 years. We’ve gone from 400 quadrate feet to 4 operating sites,” helium said. “Tamara was a visionary and a bully operations person. It was a spot intimidating, but I was a large beneficiary of what she had built.” 

He admitted that starting the caller occupation without being capable to conscionable with radical in-person had immoderate advantages.

The CAC thrift store

“I didn’t person the vantage of pulling a squad unneurotic successful a room,” helium said, “but it was beneficial successful that it slowed things down a spot and gave maine much clip to learn.”

On paper, his planetary acquisition had small successful communal with the section services of CAC. Operating successful places with wide poorness and constricted resources, helium was accustomed to starring ample assemblage improvement projects to amended water, education, healthcare and farming – including a food workplace successful Pakistan.

However, pointing retired that a minimum of 20,000 radical successful Sandy Springs and Dunwoody unrecorded successful poorness contempt our developed infrastructure, helium recovered the needs of the radical served by CAC akin to those of the radical helium had served internationally.

“People are people. Their needs are the aforesaid everywhere,” helium said. “A parent wakes up successful Sandy Springs and wonders if she tin provender and amended her kids, support them safe. A pistillate successful Bangladesh has the aforesaid concerns, but they look different.”

He has, however, had immoderate surprises.

“What I didn’t expect was the level of dedication of the volunteers,” helium said. “This twelvemonth we gave a 25-year unpaid grant and 5 oregon six 20-year awards.” 

In little than 2 years, Horton has already enriched lawsuit services by supporting instauration of the Career Center to supply broad mentoring and guidance to jobseekers, including those extracurricular Dunwoody and Sandy Springs.

For more, including what I learned during a caller tour, delight click the QR code.

Shelves of nutrient astatine the CAC Dunwoody branch.