The Concerned Black Clergy of Metro Atlanta is leading a “sleep out” to call attention to the plight of people who are homeless or lack affordable housing.
“The Night to Sleep Out: Making Room in the Inn at Christmas,” initiative calls for clergy of multiple faiths, activists and community leaders to pitch tents or sleep in their car on church ground and other property of faith-based organizations. It begins at 5 p.m. Saturday and ends on Sunday at dawn.
The sleep out hopes to raise awareness about homelessness, affordable housing and rent control by tying the story of Mary and Joseph finding no place but a manger for the birth of Jesus. It’s also about finding solutions to the problem, said the Rev. Shanan Jones, president of Concerned Black Clergy of Metro Atlanta.
“We have hundreds of unhoused residents sleeping at Atlanta’s airport, tents are spreading around the edges of our thoroughfares and within community neighborhoods, and far too many individuals and families are living in cars parked on store lots,” Jones said in a press release. “The question is if Jesus came to the metro Atlanta area today, would there still be no room for him in the Inn? Could the holy family even afford to live in metro Atlanta? Let us place ourselves in our neighbor’s shoes and help them live housed with dignity.”
Those who want to participate, can email Jones at sjones@concernedblackclergy.com to register your faith group and to learn about locations.
According to the annual Point In Time Count report released earlier this year, Atlanta’s homeless population in January was 2,679 — 738 people found sleeping on the streets on the night of Jan. 23, and an additional 1,941 people who were living in shelters from Jan. 23 - 30. Last year, the survey found 640 people unsheltered and an additional 1,377 in shelters.
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