Downtown Atlanta is largely empty after dark. Billions of dollars of real estate and potential economic activity are being wasted. Much of this is because of fear of crime. And while this perception is not supported by statistics, the fear is perpetuated by the chronic homeless.
Our investments in infrastructure, conventions, parks, streetcars and stadiums will all be for naught if we do not create a downtown where people feel safe and economic activity can flourish. This means solving the problem of chronic homelessness.
On any given night, more than 5,600 Atlantans face homelessness. Of these, 4,000 are poor people who have had an “episode” in their lives. The other approximately 1,600 people have bigger problems. These are the “chronically” homeless, many homeless for many years. Many of these folks live on downtown streets.
At least 25 percent of the chronically homeless have severe mental illness. The other 1,200 able-bodied (mostly) men are “stuck” in homelessness. They have a combination of problems: past criminal records; historical addiction to crack, marijuana or alcohol; no work experience and/or bad work habits; bad credit; past-due child support; wage garnishments; no drivers license; past-due fines and court costs; no bank accounts; no mailing address; no connection to family and children; and a poor formal education. Escaping from chronic homelessness is impossible without help.
Georgia Works! was founded in 2013 to get men from chronic homelessness to self-sufficiency. We change men’s habits from dependency to a work-based self-sufficiency. Men are required to be alcohol and drug free upon entry and throughout the program, to renounce all handouts and to work.
Initially, men do unpaid chores. After 30 days, men are issued a uniform and paid $7.40 an hour to pick up trash in the community. After four months, they are eligible to go to work for one of our 18 corporate customers who contract directly with Georgia Works! for labor.
Over the course of a year, our case managers work with each man on his individual problems. They help them get their IDs; attend substance abuse classes; establish an email account, a mailing address and a bank account; address past-due child support, and reconcile with families and children. Courses are given each day, such as “Men Making Better Decisions” and smoking cessation classes.
Since our founding 15 months ago, Georgia Works! has graduated 37 men who have gone from living under bridges and in parks to living in their own apartments, being employed and paying taxes. Of our 37 graduates, 36 are still employed and in their original apartments. We graduate an additional five to six men every month.
Some Georgia Works! graduates make $45,000 as commercial truck drivers, and many work at jobs paying $15-plus an hour. There are currently 60 men in the program working toward self-sufficiency. We are expanding our program to serve 100 men by this summer.
Georgia Works! can take a man from chronic homelessness to self-sufficiency for less than $10,000. In comparison, it costs Georgia $18,000 to house a prisoner for a year.
Ending chronic homelessness downtown is the right thing to do for two reasons.
First, many of the homeless were born with huge disadvantages: early physical or sexual abuse, no parents, horrible role models, crime-infested neighborhoods, poor schools and no economic opportunity (combined with some poor decisions).
Second, it’s in our economic interest to get the chronically homeless to self-sufficiency. We need to increase economic activity downtown. We have made substantial investments in private real estate and public infrastructure, including stadiums, the Atlanta Streetcar, universities and parks. Only through ending the perception of crime, and ending chronic homelessness, will our investments pay off.
Bill McGahan is the founder and chairman of Georgia Works!
