Activists with the Justice for Cornelius Taylor Coalition renewed their criticism of the city of Atlanta Tuesday, infuriated by the failure to house eight former residents of a camp the city cleared earlier this month.
Community activists, advocates for the homeless and several former camp residents spoke outside City Hall on Trinity Avenue at the small rally. They want Mayor Andre Dickens to help the residents get into Welcome House, a supportive housing program and apartment complex southwest of downtown where many people from the Old Wheat Street camp were temporarily housed.
Tim Franzen, a long-standing critic of the city’s homeless policies and a member of the coalition formed after Taylor was crushed at the camp, said six people who couldn’t get into the complex were staying in hotel rooms funded by the coalition.
Franzen said he recently learned that two others, including a veteran and a young mother, were in a Motel 6 on Virginia Avenue, and the hotel management had told them they would have to leave before the coalition stepped in to help.
“We were told that those folks received housing, only to find out that they’re languishing at a Motel 6, being totally uncared for,” Franzen said during the news conference.
The mayor’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Partners for HOME CEO Cathryn Vassell said her nonprofit, which manages the city’s homeless strategy, was committed to supporting Old Wheat Street residents, including people staying temporarily in motel rooms.
“Our outreach teams are staying closely connected with them to assess their needs, determine eligibility, and connect them with permanent supportive housing,” Vassell said in a statement.
However, Rudine Kemp, 22, said she had been living at the motel for weeks with her two young children, ages 4 and 5.
“The city has not checked on us … has not (helped) us with any of our needs,” she said.
Allen Hall said he has been homeless for more than 30 years. The 71-year-old said some unhoused people and their families are turned away at Welcome House, but that the coalition had supported him and made sure he had the basic necessities to “survive from day to day.”
Credit: Ben Hendren
Credit: Ben Hendren
Franzen cast doubt on the city’s ability to complete Downtown Rising, the controversial effort to end homelessness in the downtown core ahead of the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament next summer.
Partners for HOME has said it will offer housing to everyone, and plans to close all camps by the end of the year.
Alison Johnson, executive director of the Housing Justice League, also has doubts.
“The city promised housing for all Old Wheat Street residents. Eight people remain in limbo,” she said in a statement. “If they can’t house eight people — how can we believe their broader promises to end homelessness downtown by the end of the year?”
Taylor was crushed at the Old Wheat Street encampment Jan. 16, when a vehicle witnesses described as a bulldozer or front loader flattened his tent while he was still inside. He was pronounced dead at the Grady Memorial Hospital.
There was no sign that anyone had returned to the camp in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood on Tuesday, after more than 30 people who lived there left before a July 10 clearing.
A City of Atlanta sign warned people that it is unlawful to camp on the public street, and referred anyone who needs housing assistance to dial 311.
Taylor’s cousin Darlene Chaney is part of a wrongful-death lawsuit filed against the city of Atlanta on Friday. She urged the mayor and city to house people, and said Welcome House was ready to take them in.
“They have the beds for our eight people but the city has red tape,” Chaney said last week. “So, I really am calling on the mayor to make the phone call, cut the tape, help us out.”
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
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