Standing in the Crossfire: Minister on a mission to uplift Southside children

“I felt called to stand in the crossfire,” Carter said, “so these children could have a chance.”

A former Clayton County public school teacher, Carter knew education was the only way out for the children living in the apartments. She founded the Crossfire Movement, a nonprofit offering academic support, emotional growth, and a safe space for kids to go after school, starting in 2021.

“What I envisioned was a place where these children could come and find a village,” she said. “We would support them, love them, and call them scholars.”

The children are picked up at the apartment complex three days a week and brought to nearby Siloam Church International on Roosevelt Highway, where Carter and her husband, Pastor Jonathan C. Carter, lead the congregation.

There, kids in kindergarten through fifth grade receive mentoring, tutoring, help with homework, snacks and a meal.

Once a week, they leave with a bag of groceries to take home.

A clothing closet offers donated clothes to replace ripped pants, outgrown dresses, or stained clothes. It’s all free — no questions asked.

But Carter also knew it would take more than just helping kids. She created a Mommies’ Circle, a support group where women from the apartments can sharpen their job-hunting skills and find community. “Never give up. Keep your head up. Always pray.” That’s their anthem.

A digital and creative boost

In 2021, cable provider Comcast helped transform part of the church’s Sunday school building into a “Finish Strong Learning Pod” and provided free internet and digital training for families from the apartments.

Community partners help keep the program going, donating meals, supplies and experiences. One of the most beloved collaborations is with South Fulton Arts, which brings creative enrichment directly to the students.

Artist Jamaali Roberts, known as “Mr. Jam Jam,” challenged kids to imagine a character on the moon. Some went straight to the drawing board. Others wrote. Some invented whimsical worlds with imaginary pets, friends, and even aliens. After a few weeks, they stood before friends and families to proudly share their work.

“They learned to take an idea, grow it and present it with confidence,” Roberts said.

South Fulton Arts put on another program to help the students find their voices through poetry, said Jennifer Bauer-Lyons, the nonprofit’s executive director.

“We believe the arts feed the soul,” she said.

So far, about 75 students have passed through Carter’s program. Among them was Derriona Anderson.

She joined in fourth grade. Her confidence — and her grades — climbed. “Especially in math,” she said.

She regularly repeated this affirmation: “I am smart. I am good at math.”

Her mother, Kaquana Glenn, volunteered with the after-school program and participated in the Mommies’ Circle.

“It’s hard living here,” she said of the apartments. “You don’t sleep much. It’s hard for kids to learn in this environment.”

After aging out of the program, Derriona returned to Carter’s program, this time as a volunteer tutor.

Violence still lingers

Despite increased police patrols and new lighting at the complex, danger remains a constant for Freedom Park residents.

“It’s still a violent crime community,” said South Fulton Councilwoman Helen Zenobia Willis, “and a nuisance to our city.”

Over the past few years, police have responded to more than 100 calls annually at the apartments, city data shows. There was a dip in 2022, but the violence resurged. Five homicides were reported in the last two and a half years, three of them in 2024 alone.

A person who identified herself as the complex’s manager when reached by phone said police are now patrolling the property, and management recently added 24-hour a day private security. The person ended the call before providing her name.

Still, for many, the sense of safety remains fragile.

That’s why Carter’s work matters so deeply, Willis said.

“She’s doing the work — miraculously,” the councilwoman added.

The road she chose

Sylvia Carter once planned to have a career in marketing. That changed after she got married and began meeting the people she and her husband served. She returned to school five years after their wedding to become a teacher, working in the Clayton County school system for a decade and becoming its first African American National Board Certified Teacher.

But the classroom wasn’t enough. She wanted to be out helping in the community.

“I didn’t want to be on the sidelines,” said Carter, a mother of two. “I wanted to be involved.”

Today, she’s a missionary, educator, mentor, public speaker, and author. Her Christian romance novels reflect her passion for redemption and growth. So does her work in the community.

She celebrates every win, big or small: the girl whose after-school program participation helped catch up to her classmates after missing two years of school, and the mom who earned her GED and found employment.

“A win is a win,” Carter said. “We celebrate them all."

MORE INFORMATION

For more information on The Crossfire Movement, visit www.thecrossfiremovement.org/.

For more information on South Fulton Arts, go to www.southfultonarts.org.