LOCAL SALUTE

Zeus Luby works with law enforcement to help prevent recividism.

Wrongly Convicted

Turning a negative into a positive

The 2022 co-chairs of the Seeds of Change Society Luncheon Elizabeth Bresnahan and Melba Wynn Hill with BCM President and CEO Keeva Kase.

Preventing Homelessness

Financial education is key

In 1987, a group of Atlanta churches came together to form the Buckhead Christian Community Ministry. Its mission is to prevent homelessness by providing emergency assistance, supportive housing and financial education for single Atlanta women who live in poverty. To help, the organization offers Budget for Life, a 12-month program that helps build the skills they need to become financially stable.

Melba Wynn Hill was on the Missions Committee at the Church at Wieuca and assigned to BCM. After she completed her service on the board, she joined a group of women in a giving circle called the Seeds of Change Society. The first fundraiser was a luncheon that became an annual event. Hill co-hosted this year’s 10th anniversary gathering at the Cherokee Town & Country Club in April.

“I’ve always been passionate about helping women and children avoid homelessness,” she says. “It all starts with a strong foundation, and at SOC, we give people that opportunity.”

The Seeds of Change Society has supported BCM’s mission for 10 years by raising awareness and resources for programs, says Keeva Kase, president and CEO of BCM. “They are truly doing God’s work.”

BUCKHEAD CHRISTIAN MINISTRY bcmgeorgia.org • @bcmgeorgia When Zeus Luby was 17, he was falsely arrested under charges that resulted in two felony convictions. It took seven years of fighting the authorities to fix a clerical error and have his record expunged.

To help other young people who have been arrested, he signed on as the director of programming at Rehabilitation Enables Dreams, a restorative justice program with headquarters in Sandy Springs. “On average, 60% of those who have been incarcerated return to prison, but recidivism among our graduates is 10%,” he says.

RED works with district attorneys in DeKalb and Gwinnett counties who identify 40 men who have been arrested for minor crimes as potential participants for each of the one-year programs. Luby conducts extensive interviews, and 25 are chosen. The program encompasses education, emotional issues, anger management, health, entrepreneurship, voting and civil rights, and civil literacy. Volunteer mentors also undergo an extensive vetting process before being matched with participants.

Each month, the entire group gets together for either a fun activity or to work in the community. “We want to show them how to build it up instead of tear it down,” Luby says.

Once they graduate, their cases are dismissed, and their records are expunged. They receive help with education, employment and housing. To date, approximately 100 have graduated. Funding comes primarily from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, individual donors and an annual football tournament at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

REHABILITATION ENABLES DREAMS • 404.487.9501 stoprecidivism.org • @stop_recividism

Eating Disorders

on the Rise Stemming the tide

Eating disorders became personal in 2016 for Sandy Springs resident Marci Soran when her then 17-yearold son, a runner, confessed he was anorexic. To delve deeper, she checked out his Facebook page and learned he was already working with EDucation and INsight on Eating Disorders (EDIN). At 23, he’s thriving as a student at the University of Cambridge.

The same post contained an ad from EDIN seeking applicants for an executive director. It was a perfect fit for Soran’s desire to work for a nonprofit, her experience as a business owner marketing for health charities and her track record of turning failing businesses around. She landed the job in 2017.

“EDIN’s goal is to help children develop a healthy relationship with food, a challenge when social media projects millions of pictures of people with unrealistic body images,” she says. To combat the barrage, the organization provides evidence-based curriculum in person and online to help schools recognize the symptoms, certifies high school coaches through the Running on Empty program and

Marci Soran helps kids develop a healthy relationship with food.

offers Be Real/EDIN, a course for teachers who receive Continuing Education credits. It also offers resources for anyone wanting to learn more about eating disorders.

“Eating disorders skyrocketed during COVID-19,” Soran says. “In America, there are 20 million women and 10 million men with eating disorders, and someone dies every 62 minutes. Sufferers don’t get better by themselves. They need help.”

EDUCATION AND INSIGHT ON EATING DISORDERS • 404.465.3385 myedin.org • @bodypositivitywithedin