Building Opportunity with Atlanta Roots

Rosalyn Merrick reflects on representing Atlanta Habitat in Washington and bringing lessons home

When I returned from Washington, D.C., after participating in Vistage on the Hill 2026, I came home with a renewed sense of purpose.

The conversations brought together business leaders and policy experts to discuss issues shaping America's future, from workforce development and economic competitiveness to artificial intelligence and the federal legislative agenda. I was honored to represent Atlanta Habitat for Humanity in those discussions, bringing a perspective grounded in affordable homeownership, community development, and the lived realities of the families we serve.

What became increasingly clear throughout the experience is something we see every day at Atlanta Habitat: Housing is not simply a social issue. It is economic infrastructure.

Stable, affordable homeownership influences educational outcomes, workforce participation, health, wealth-building, and long-term community vitality. Communities thrive when families have the opportunity to put down roots, build equity, and remain connected to the places they call home.

From Washington to Langston Park

That message felt especially timely on the heels of the 2026 Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project.

This spring, volunteers, partners, homeowners, and supporters came together to build 24 homes in just five days at Langston Park, Atlanta Habitat's newest planned community. But what emerged was more than homes. A neighborhood began to take shape. New relationships were formed. Futures were transformed.

Langston Park is a powerful reminder that housing creates opportunity. It also illustrates why Atlanta Habitat's work extends beyond construction.

Building more equitable communities requires collaboration among residents, nonprofits, businesses, philanthropic partners, and policymakers. It requires systems, investments, and policies that recognize the essential role housing plays in economic mobility and community well-being.

As Atlanta Habitat continues to grow, so does our responsibility to contribute to those conversations locally and nationally.

Rooted in Atlanta

This work is deeply personal to me.

As a native Atlantan, I have watched this city evolve into a global center of opportunity and innovation. I have also witnessed the growing challenges many longtime residents face as housing costs rise and access to homeownership becomes increasingly difficult.

That reality strengthens my commitment to ensuring that the people who have helped build Atlanta can continue to share in its future.

It is a theme explored in Atlanta Habitat's documentary Rooted. The families we serve are deeply connected to this city's neighborhoods, institutions, culture, and future. They are not separate from Atlanta's story. They are an essential part of it.

In many ways, their story resonates with my own. Atlanta shaped who I am. It raised me, educated me, and instilled in me a belief in the power of community. Serving this city through Atlanta Habitat is both a privilege and a responsibility.

Shaping What's Next

One of the greatest opportunities Atlanta Habitat has today is not only to build homes, but to help shape the future of housing in our city and beyond.

By bringing Atlanta's experience into national conversations and bringing new ideas home, we can advocate for solutions that connect homeownership, economic mobility, workforce development, and community prosperity.

Atlanta's future should include the people who helped build its past and sustain its present.

As our city continues to grow, Atlanta Habitat will continue working to ensure that growth translates into opportunity, and that more families have the chance to put down roots, build stability, grow, and thrive.

Because when families thrive, communities thrive. And when communities thrive, so does Atlanta.