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 […]
Homelessness
Coverage of how Atlanta’s housing costs, city policies, race, and systemic inequality are shaping who becomes homeless or unhoused—and what happens next.
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 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 […]
Posted inCity Politics, Housing
If Atlanta Is a Black Mecca, Why Are 8 Out of 10 Homeless People Black?
Forty-seven percent of Atlanta residents are Black, but the city commonly referred to as the Black Mecca had a homeless population in January that was 80% Black, according to the latest Point-In-Time homelessness census count released on Monday. Of equal concern, on Jan. 27, the city logged 131 homeless families, an 18% rise from the […]
Posted inHousing
Revamped Motel Gives Atlanta’s Unhoused a Second Chance — But for How Long?
Malcolm Walker was grateful to have a roof over his head on Monday after spending the past six months living under a bridge. The 32-year-old Atlanta resident was one of up to 80 unhoused people living in tents at the Pryor Street homeless encampment — located downtown under Interstate 20 — before a crew of […]
Posted inGentrification, Housing
Atlanta’s Largest Homeless Encampment Is About to Be Cleared
Atlanta’s largest homeless encampment is scheduled to be “decommissioned” on Monday as city officials continue working to clear potentially hazardous tent cities in the wake of the January tragedy that resulted in Cornelius Taylor’s death. Up until recently, the encampment located downtown beneath Interstate 20 on Pryor Street was home to as many as 80 […]
Posted inHousing, Politics & Policy
Why Affordable Housing Advocates Worry Atlanta’s Unhoused Population Is Growing
It’s been about three years since Janice Ruff reported her former landlord to the Atlanta Police Department’s housing code enforcement division for refusing to make repairs to her old apartment. That landlord received an estimated $3,500 fine, according to Ruff, who said he evicted her a short time later for having a “smart mouth.” She’s […]
Posted inCity Politics, Public Safety
Calls to End Encampment Sweeps Grow After Killing of Cornelius Taylor
Supporters of Cornelius Taylor — the Black man who officials say was killed on Jan. 17 by a construction vehicle clearing an encampment of unhoused people in Atlanta’s Auburn Avenue neighborhood — are demanding city policy changes following his horrific demise. Atlanta City Council member Liliana Bakhtiari introduced a resolution Thursday calling for officials to […]
Posted inEveryday Heroes
DeKalb Man Brings Mobile Showers and Laundry to Atlanta’s Unhoused Community
We’ve partnered with the AJC to help recognize amazing Georgians who have done their small part to make a big difference. We’ve profiled two of the 48 people who remind each of us that acts of kindness are never random. You can meet the rest of this year’s ‘Everyday Heroes’: ajc.com/heroes Clarenton “Nicky” Crawford has […]