The July 18 Transform Westside Summit focused on the intersection of housing, justice, and community well-being, spotlighting the vital work of the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation (AVLF) in creating systems-level change across Atlanta through pro bono legal and social services. Hosted and moderated by Westside Future Fund President & CEO John Ahmann, the Summit highlighted how historical systemic disinvestment continues to shape present-day eviction patterns, the impact of housing on educational and health outcomes, and the power of place-based legal interventions to restore safety, stability, and opportunity for families across Atlanta. 

The event opened with a devotion by Michael Cortez, a data research analyst with Morehouse Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center and Home on the Westside participant, who emphasized the strength of shared purpose, resilience through adversity, and the importance of every individual’s role in community transformation.

Following the devotion, AVLF Executive Director Michael Lucas took the stage to share AVLF’s evolving model of neighborhood-based legal advocacy, which embeds lawyers and social workers directly into Atlanta schools and communities. His message centered on how housing instability and eviction undermine education, health, and long-term opportunity for families.

Key highlights from Lucas’s presentation included:

• Eviction Mapping and Redlining: Lucas shared compelling maps showing that evictions in Atlanta are still highly concentrated in formerly redlined neighborhoods — a painful legacy of discriminatory housing policy that continues to shape life outcomes today.

• School Stability as a Justice Issue: High eviction rates force mid-year student relocations, which drastically reduce academic performance and graduation rates. AVLF’s work through their Standing with Our Neighbors program led to a 25% drop in school exits in communities.

• Health Partnerships: Through collaborations with healthcare providers like Kaiser Permanente and Caresource, AVLF is addressing housing as a health issue — connecting families to legal resources that reduce exposure to unsafe housing, intimate partner abuse, and other social determinants of poor health.
  
  
• Mobile Legal Access: Lucas shared the impact of AVLF’s Standing with Survivors program, equipped with a Mobile Advocacy Van outfitted to serve as a traveling courtroom. This will enable survivors of intimate partner violence to access legal protection safely from within their neighborhoods.

Throughout the presentation, Lucas emphasized that true justice requires meeting people where they are — geographically, emotionally, and structurally, saying: “We’re not waiting for families to come downtown to seek help. We’re bringing help to their front doors.”

Lucas closed by reflecting on AVLF’s move to a new headquarters, which is intentionally situated within the historic Westside to better serve the community. He also issued a call for increased public- and private-sector investment, noting that charitable support makes nearly half of AVLF’s work possible.

Missed the event? Watch the full Transform Westside Summit on YouTube.