AJC.com > Talk of the town > Archives > 2008 > September > 19 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USHomeless in Atlanta: Crystal’s story
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Crystal once had a job and a place to call home.
But the former waitress and grocery store cashier lost everything four years ago. Her “home” was recently a small space she staked out under a downtown parking deck along CSX railroad tracks. See and listen to Crystal’s story.
Crystal, a drug addict, is able to make it by using the various services offered to help the homeless.
It’s unclear how many people are homeless, but a recent article by AJC reporter Craig Schneider said as many as 20,000 Georgians are homeless on any given day. Schneider wrote that a “study by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs determined that while metro Atlanta has the greatest number of homeless, significant clusters are found in smaller cities including Albany, Columbus and Savannah.”
What can be done to help people like Crystal? Is it the sole responsibility of government to help? What’s the role of churches and individuals?
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By Liar-loan McCain
September 19, 2008 10:46 AM | Link to this
It depends on when you want your revolution.
By Barb
September 19, 2008 11:44 AM | Link to this
I understand where she’s coming from, I myself was homeless with my family and stayed in a campground until we found a place to live. As for the churches some may help, but in reality they don’t even if your a member they send you to other churches to help you. I know, I used to belong to a big mega church. Some people may not know this and say it will never happen to them, but your just a step away from being homeless.
By Tim
September 19, 2008 12:22 PM | Link to this
Crystal does not want help at this time. She says that she is a drug addict and when she quits doing drugs is when she is ready for help. Tough love is the only thing that works. This is from experience. She needs to go to NA every day if she wants to stop being homeless.
By Michelle
September 19, 2008 12:50 PM | Link to this
If the homeless really want help to get off the streets and get help from their addictions, then the government should help in some way. If they had treatment programs out there to reach these people and help them make the first step into transitioning, I think that would be a great start. You cannot keep homeless people off the street, but you can help. Anyone can help, if they want the help. We should have a program set up to help families, first and foremost. We don’t want children to grow up on the streets anywhere. I would like to help start a program for these people, but not sure where to start.
By dpbear
September 19, 2008 2:06 PM | Link to this
The pictures show her drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes. Where are her priorites? Stop buying booze and cigarettes and use that money on food, clothing, housing.
By charles
September 19, 2008 2:45 PM | Link to this
Who cares? Drink and drug youself to death, baby. It’s called a choice.
By lucy
September 19, 2008 9:08 PM | Link to this
It’s called genes, actually. Crystal’s an addict…it’s in her DNA. Does anyone in Atlanta know her? Does she want help? She seems…content.
By mustang100
September 20, 2008 8:04 PM | Link to this
Michelle, you can’t help trash like her until she decides to stop being trash and start being a human being. The programs are there, but after they deal with you a couple of times, you ARE on your own. It’s America and you have choices, and her fate is up to her.
By Reality
September 21, 2008 8:57 AM | Link to this
The government has no role subsidizing drugs, ciggerates and alcohol. She has made her own bed.
By holly smith
September 21, 2008 1:40 PM | Link to this
Chrystal has many options that I’m sure she knows about being on the streets this long. I work with day labor and deal with her situation daily. My guys who want to turn their life around go into rehab and show up for work every morning and eventually get hired on with good companies. I’m very proud of them and some HAVE come from living under bridges. The ones like Chrystal always have an excuse. They will show up only when they need money for drugs, where they live doesn’t matter and they can get free food from churches and shelters, the only time they want to work is when they cannot get their drugs another way. If they have a repeat ticket for the next day and they made $50 today it is enough to keep them high for a couple of days,so they will not show back up to work. Chrystal is also in a co-dependant relationship where neither one is going anywhere other than where they are. It is a situation of who is going to scrounge for the drugs or beer so we can sleep tonight? I work with a couple of couples like them. There is help for the ones who actually want it; but the handouts for these types are wrong.
By M. R. Biggins
September 21, 2008 3:40 PM | Link to this
Five mornings a week I drag myself out of bed and drive 57 miles each way to work. I put up with cash flow issues, low morale and the recession and I am supposed to feel sorry for someone who would rather drink and do drugs instead of work. I don’t think so.
By prince charles
September 21, 2008 7:43 PM | Link to this
This is an outrage. It’s inexplainable why the AJC would profile a homeless woman drinking a 40oz. of malt liqour, smoking cigarettes, while romantically involved.
What’s next, a day in the life of crack dealer in the Bluff? Oh my, I can just see it now. Pic 1: Kareem wakes up @ 5am to cook his cocaine…Pic 2: Crystal, who is previously listed, arrives to buy her drugs….
Funny because I can imagine the profile stories to gather a Dickensian effect.
Come on guys we have good news in Atlanta; however, this one is very ‘iffy’.
By Question
September 21, 2008 8:38 PM | Link to this
My question is for the AJC. I could be wrong but wasn’t she living next to the tracks when you first ran this story? What happened did your publicty get her evicted from her spot?
By J Corry
September 21, 2008 9:23 PM | Link to this
Who cares? Drink and drug youself to death, baby. It’s called a choice.
It is called a ‘choice’.
It comes packaged with a ‘consequence’.
Removing the consequence from the choice is impossible and ill-conceived. Exactly the type of project people like to see government try to take upon itself!
By Lyrazel
September 22, 2008 8:01 AM | Link to this
She is a very good example of homeless in Atlanta; on the dole when social services pays and high on the street with the check spent.
By Right on Charles
September 24, 2008 12:50 PM | Link to this
Right on Charles…
This woman has made her priorities very clear. Who are we to try and dissuade her from her chosen path in life.
There are plenty of places to help the homeless - most of these folks are homeless because they didn’t want to do what the rest of us have to do - get a job!
Let her drink herself to death - save us all some much needed money.
By eric
September 25, 2008 1:11 PM | Link to this
It is not as easy as “straighten up and fly right”. An apartment requires good credit and a job. It is problematic to have a job without a home. Shelters are often undesirable. 4 years on the street weakens your willpower and mental health. I know lots of healthy people who can’t quit smoking, (and smoking takes away the hunger.) Yes, the city provides resources, but I suspect they are just keeping people alive. Sadly, people fear giving more assistance will just draw more homeless to the city. And, honestly, I don’t know the answer. But compassion is a good start.
By S. C.
September 26, 2008 11:41 AM | Link to this
I feel some compassion for Crystal being in the situation in which she finds herself. However, being an admitted crack head (yeah I said it!) and drunk (yeah, I said it!) doesn’t sit well with me at all.
I have been bled dry by a brother and a sister who have chosen this path in life because it is an easy way out; they live day to day, work when they choose to, beg for what they want, and borrow what they need. They are the worst kinds of leeches because they play on your sympathy, kindness, and generosity, and kick you to the curb when they have sucked you dry!
I feel that I have an obligation to help my brother and sister until I die, which I will. But as the years have gone by, I have realized that they are the same people today that they were 25 years ago. When I die, they will still be doing the same damn things that they are doing now.
So Crystal and Frank, good luck to you. Continue to live the screwed up life (as I see it) that you both are living. Maybe it’s working for you. But I know now, after many years of dealing with the crack heads I’ve dealt with, that my brother and sister will never want badly enough for themselves what I want for them. Today, I’m OK with that and it feel MAH-VE-LOUS!!!
Hey, who am I to say that drinking oneself into an alcoholic binging stupor is not OK? Who am I to say that smoking crack is bad for any given person? Who am I to say that begging, borrowing, and stealing (trust me, these two have done their share of hustling and stealing; I know the game) is not the way to live? I refuse to judge these people. But I will say this - - go ahead, screw up your body with drugs and continue to live the sick twisted existence that you do. If it works for you, hey, GO FOR IT! It simply doesn’t work for me! But for all that you have done that have affected an innocent person, you’ll get yours one day!
Good luck you two!
I think I’ll go have a cocktail!