Anxious. Annoyed. Angry. Those are just a few of the emotions expressed by the steady stream of Black folks seen walking in and out of the magistrate case information office inside the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta on Tuesday as some desperately sought legal aid before appearing in court for pending eviction cases. Metro Atlanta […]
Housing
Posted inCommunity, Housing, Politics & Policy, Public Services
Atlanta Spent $60 Million to Address Homelessness, but the Crisis Persists
As the temperature dropped to around 35 degrees last Wednesday night, Yered Israel wasn’t sure where he’d be sleeping — or whether he’d sleep at all. The 36-year-old, self-identified unhoused man was sitting in the entryway of a Georgia State University garage with his belongings around 9 p.m. last week when he was approached by […]
Posted inHousing
Advocates Say ‘Landlord Friendly’ Laws Are Fueling Evictions, Homelessness in Atlanta
Monae Edgerson Pettaway was already in a state of “financial crisis” before she was forced to move out of her one-bedroom apartment at McAuley Station in Atlanta in December. The 55-year-old disabled Atlanta native says the management team at the 170-unit apartment complex — located near Selena S. Butler Park in the city’s Sweet Auburn […]
Posted inCity Politics, Housing, Politics & Policy
As Atlanta Prepares for MLK Day, Bernice King Urges Action on Homelessness
This year’s MLK Jr. Day celebration in Atlanta is on Monday, but last week King Center CEO Bernice A. King was reflecting on a recent tragic milestone. Friday marks the one-year anniversary of the killing of Cornelius Taylor. Witnesses said the 46-year-old unhoused Black man was sleeping in a tent across from Ebenezer Baptist Church on […]
Posted inCommunity, Housing
For One Atlanta Family, a New Home Arrived Just in Time for Christmas
Atlanta native Quanta and her family on Tuesday received what for them was the ultimate Christmas gift from Habitat for Humanity and its partnership with Atlanta Falcons legend Warrick Dunn. The 35-year-old engaged mother of three, her children, her fiancé, Antione, and her mother, Geraldine, were visibly shocked during the morning as they toured their […]
Posted inGentrification, Housing, Politics & Policy
Mayor’s TAD Plan Sparks Gentrification Fears for Southwest Atlanta Activists
Atlanta community activists advocating on behalf of low-income Black families are raising gentrification concerns about Mayor Andre Dickens’ $5 billion neighborhood reinvestment initiative. The program calls for the extension of existing tax allocation districts (TADs) to help pay for revamping majority-Black neighborhoods on the city’s southwest side. TADs — also referred to as tax incremental […]
Posted inElections, Housing, Politics & Policy
Ossoff Talks Affordable Housing, Delivering for Black Voters
Lack of affordable housing is “probably the number one issue” impacting everyone in metro Atlanta, especially the region’s Black community, according to U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff. It’s why he says he’s spent years combatting abusive corporate landlords and promoting affordable home construction across the state. “I’m in the midst now of an ongoing investigation of […]
Posted inHousing
Black Homebuyers’ Affordability Woes Persist Despite Lower Atlanta Prices
Atlanta native Akasha Lawrence dreams of owning a three-bedroom house in the city where she was born and raised, but finding one in her price range this year has been “a little difficult.” The 29-year-old Midtown resident was one of many aspiring Black homebuyers who participated in Invest Atlanta’s Homeownership Month Open House Tour in […]
Posted inHousing
From Care Packs to 311 Calls: 5 Ways to Help the Unhoused Now
In a city grappling with an affordable housing crisis, within a state that’s banned rent control, Atlanta’s mostly Black homeless population continues to increase. The annual survey of homeless people in the metro area revealed a 1% rise in Atlanta’s overall homeless population. The city saw a 7% year-over-year increase in 2024, and a 33% […]
Posted inHousing
Thrown Away ‘Like Trash’: Displaced Tenants Speak Out After Complex Is Condemned
Quentin Carey is a single father who lived with his 16-year-old son at a dilapidated apartment complex in College Park for three years. In March, the unemployed warehouse worker received a notice saying he had seven days to move out because the property was unsafe. Carolyn Huitt, a retired home health aid, lived at the […]
