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U.S. NEWS Saturday 26 auguSt 2017
American Living:

Homeless wary as Atlanta closes its last-resort shelter

Nationwide, cities that man said.
once herded the home- “Otherwise, you get peo-
less into large downtown ple living in the shelter sys-
shelters are trying to quickly tem. It’s like if you had a
move them into long-term hotel and no one ever left
housing tailored to their it, you have to keep build-
needs. ing more and more hotels.”
Some advocates say that Atlanta, however, is clos-
with enough support, even ing Peachtree-Pine without
people with serious mental having first developed the
health problems, addic- capacity to replace it, said
tions, chronic illnesses and Anita Beaty, who retired six
a deep distrust of author- months ago as executive
ity can sleep in their own director of the task force.
beds. “It’s a terrible mistake,”
This model has found suc- Beaty said. “The forces in
cess in places such as Hous- Atlanta who don’t want
ton and the state of Con- homeless people visible
necticut, said Nan Roman, — and certainly not on
president of the National Peachtree Street — are ex-
Alliance to End Homeless- tremely powerful.”
ness. The shelter occupies some
“As soon as we figure out the most valuable real es-
In this Aug. 7, 2017 photo, a man sits quietly in a warm room inside the Peachtree-Pine homeless
shelter in Atlanta. For decades, as many as 1,000 people with nowhere else to turn could come how they get in, we need tate in the South, a few
off the street at Peachtree and Pine, no questions asked. But years of litigation wore down the to figure out how they get blocks from the 55-story
shelter’s operators. out. Bank of America Plaza, the
(AP Photo/Robert Ray) It has to go together,” Ro- city’s tallest skyscraper. q
By JEFF MARTIN a time,” said Jack Hardin,
ROBERT RAY co-chairman of the Re-
Associated Press gional Commission on the
ATLANTA (AP) — Cities Homeless, which is helping
across the U.S. are trying to to manage the transition.
encourage the homeless But no one can say where
to find beds of their own, those steps will lead.
not just a cot for the night. “It’s hard not knowing
In theory, no one should where we’re going to live,”
stay in a shelter very long. said Laura Wheaton, 34,
Atlanta is putting this idea who has been staying at
to a hard, real-world test by the shelter with her four
closing its last shelter of last children for more than a
resort. month.
For decades, as many as Other Atlanta shelters are
1,000 people with nowhere so full “that all the rest of
else to turn could come off the people are going to
the street at Peachtree and be left for the streets,” she
Pine, no questions asked. said.
But years of litigation wore Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed
down the shelter’s op- announced a $50 million
erators. After epic battles plan to place 500 chroni-
against the city, tubercu- cally homeless individuals
losis, bed bugs and other and 300 homeless families
hazards, the Metro Atlanta in permanent housing. But
Task Force for the Homeless the city hasn’t acquired
settled out of court and this housing yet, nor cho-
sold its enormous industrial sen property owners will-
building to Central Atlanta ing to operate units they
Progress, a downtown busi- develop or renovate, city
ness group. spokeswoman Jenna Gar-
Relocating the people in- land said.
side will be done in a “hu- Some might be offered
mane manner,” Central one of 75 to 100 beds in a
Atlanta Progress promised west-side building near the
ahead of this month’s slow- Fulton County Jail, more
motion shutdown. than an hour’s walk away.
Starting Monday, the shel- “It’s a very big facility so
ter will turn away newcom- we wouldn’t be using the
ers, and current residents whole facility initially,” Har-
will be gradually moved din said. “We would prefer
out. not to open up large shel-
“We’ll take it one step at ters.”