The B-Aware Foundation in conjunction with the A-Town Art Agency has partnered with the Fulton County Youth Commission to bring Affirmations Across America (AAA) to life starting in Fulton County schools. AAA is about bringing positive community-minded messaging to the streets of Atlanta. We’re bombarded with messaging all day long, some positive, some negative, and some of it neutral. We want to increase the positive messaging across the city by painting positive affirmations on the electrical boxes and benches that can be found at intersections as well as any city buildings or locations where we can get approval. Society sends negative messaging all day long through the news, social media sites, as well as TV, and Radio. It’s our job to balance it out and calm people down. People on their way home from work or on their way to work could use a positive, uplifting affirmation while sitting at a red light waiting in this Atlanta traffic. A kid with the weight of the world on his shoulders could use some words of encouragement at the red light, especially if he doesn’t hear these types of things at home. It’s our job to connect the dots and bring the message to those that need it. Let's face it, Atlanta isn’t like it used to be. We can play the blame game or we can start changing things on the ground level. Crime is up, Drug abuse is up, overdoses are up, and so is domestic violence.

 

AJC STATS – June 11, 2021 Atlanta police have investigated 64 homicide cases in 2021, a 58% increase over this time last year. The surge follows a historically deadly 2020, when authorities investigated 157 homicide cases — the most in more than two decades.

 

As of June, Atlanta’s murders are up and shootings have increased by 40%, according to the latest data.

 

CDC STATS – March 1, 2021 According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as of June 2020, 13% of Americans reported starting or increasing substance use as a way of coping with stress or emotions related to COVID-19. Overdoses have also spiked since the onset of the pandemic.