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| Falcons owner Arthur Blank and coach Dan Quinn speak with Atlanta resident Billie Walker at her home on the west side of the city. Vaughn McClure/ESPN |
ATLANTA
-- On the front porch of a modest home located at Griffin Street on Atlanta's
Westside, Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank extends a warm handshake to
38-year-old Billie Walker and her 2-year-old daughter.
Walker,
a 10-year resident of the neighborhood, previously lived in a shelter for
domestic violence victims. Now she resides here, in a house built by Habitat
for Humanity. She constructed her own future by getting a job at the nearby
Atlanta Children's Shelter, where she also serves as a Zumba instructor.
It's a
story Walker shares with pride. And Blank listens intently while a contingent
of his employees -- including Falcons coach Dan Quinn -- paint Walker's house
in the background.
"Some
people might not understand what you're doing and they may feel some kind of
way about the demographics and the things that are going on, but me being a
homeowner around all this abandonment and what you're doing with sowing into
this neighborhood, it's awesome," Walker says to Blank. "It helps us
to have a better living environment."
The
neighborhood still needs a facelift.
Half the
houses within the immediate vicinity of Walker's are boarded up. Graffiti is
scribbled across doors and broken windows. Faded furniture is scattered about
the driveways. Empty Doritos bags and Newport 100 boxes litter the curbs.
A few
steps down the street stands a hobbled, bearded man wandering the intersection,
raising his palm at cars as he tries to scrounge up change for a meal. About 500
feet away from him strolls a female streetwalker, advertising her services as
she circles the block in flashy white high heels.
Blank's
cameo appearance in this sketchy Westside area is part of a yearly community
initiative involving more than 300 employees of his businesses, including the
Falcons. Some might view it as a publicity stunt for an NFL owner trying to win
over the public appeal, considering he has seats to fill in the new, $1.4
billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium located not too far from Westside that is set to
open next summer. But no matter how you dissect the situation, you can't
exaggerate the impactful image of Blank walking these rugged streets without a
brigade of security flocking him.
"You
definitely don't want to be here at night," says one of the police
officers sitting in a vehicle parked a block away.
Based on
the scowls coming from the faces of some of the residents, not everybody
welcomes the presence of Blank and his crew. It doesn't deter Blank, however,
as he moves along the block with his fiancée, Angie Macuga, next to him.
For
about 12 years, Blank and his foundation have been heavily involved in building
up this financially challenged part of town. He committed $15 million to the
Westside Neighborhood Prosperity Fund, an initiative of his foundation. (Invest
Atlanta committed another $15 million.) Over the past decade, the Blank
Foundation has dedicated nearly $10 million to Westside efforts focused on
youth leadership, health and wellness, and green-space development.
"The
Westside has been important to Atlanta and to our family for a long period of
time," Blank says. "We've said this for seven years now -- ever since
the stadium became a vision -- that we want to use the stadium as a catalyst
for other changes coming to the Westside. And we think that's taking place.
"There's
lot of work to be done. We've been working with many of the great partners. I
feel like we're definitely making a difference."
There is
a stark contrast between simply filtering money toward a cause and actually
overseeing the roots of progress. Walker's story is indicative of someone who
benefited from the helping hand Blank and others have extended.
Shelby
Duncan is another example.
Duncan
lives a few blocks from Walker in a home also built by Habitat for Humanity. As
she describes her plight to Blank, Duncan recalls the shootings and drug deals
she became accustomed to seeing daily before there was any commitment to
building up the neighborhood.
What
Duncan did not share with Blank was her own personal health issues.
"I
was really sick one time; I had cancer," Duncan says. "It was in my
lungs. My God healed me, and I thank him for that. But I suffered for like 10
years. I don't see anybody out here who is as small as I was. I was a walking
toothpick. But I got them hips back now, so you know God is good to me.
"But
it's a blessing to have Mr. Blank here. I try to laugh where I won't cry. It's
a blessing to get your house painted -- for nothing. This shows you that there
are still good people in this world."
Blank
can relate to Duncan's bout with cancer. The 73-year-old had surgery to treat
prostate cancer in mid-February and declared himself cancer-free. He lost about
10 pounds but looked healthy as he visited six Westside homes plus six other
area sites where community enhancement projects were ongoing.
"I'm
fine; I'm in good physical shape," Blank says upon ending the day at The
First Tee of Atlanta, a nonprofit organization that teaches children and teens
ages 8 to 18 life skills through golf. "This gives you energy. I lost
weight and it's good weight, but I'm getting stronger."
So is
Atlanta's Westside.
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