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Axios
7 days ago
- Politics
- Axios
Atlanta to shut camp where unhoused man was killed during clearing
The city of Atlanta will permanently shut down the homeless encampment in Old Fourth Ward where a man was killed during a clearing operation. Why it matters: The clearing of the camp on Old Wheat Street, which resulted in the death of Cornelius Taylor, led to advocates calling for a moratorium on encampment clearings and the city appointing a 90-Day Homelessness Task Force. The task force released recommended changes to the shutdown process. The latest: The cleaning and shutdown will begin at 7:30am Thursday, said Chatiqua Ellison, the mayor's interim senior adviser for housing. She and other officials discussed the closing at a press briefing Monday. Old Wheat Street runs between Boulevard and Auburn Avenue and is near Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park. What they're saying: The 14 people currently living on the site will be offered new places to live, said Cathryn Vassell, CEO of Partners for HOME, the city's nonprofit services agency. Signage was posted at the site notifying its residents of the shutdown 15 days ahead of the planned date, and case workers have been visiting the site to assess the needs of those living there. The people who've accepted will be moved into what Vassell calls "welcome housing," where they can decide whether they want to stay there short term or long term. If people do not accept the housing, they will be offered short-term shelter, "and then we can make another offer down the road as other housing solutions come up," Vassell said. Catch up quick: According to an Atlanta police incident report, Department of Public Works crews were clearing the encampment on Jan. 16 when an officer saw a man waving his arms from a tent that had just been moved by a machine. The man, who "was in clear distress," told an officer something fell on him, but he slipped into unconsciousness and was later pronounced dead. He was later identified as Taylor, 46. Friction point: Taylor's death sparked outrage from local advocates, who pressed the city to improve housing options for unsheltered residents and called for a pause on encampment clearings. The other side: Several people spoke in opposition to the planned closing during Monday's City Council meeting. "We are talking about removing residents of Atlanta from their homes in the most vicious, unethical and brutal way possible," said resident Jason Klein. State of play: Atlanta police Major Jeff Cantin said Monday the city is closing the encampment not because of next year's FIFA World Cup, but as part of an ongoing, years-long city effort. The big picture: While the city of Atlanta contends with homelessness within its borders, it's also grappling with the number of unhoused people who are relocating to the city. People from other areas are dropping people off at the Gateway Center, which is "now adding to our workload," Cantin said, referring to the nonprofit that connects unhoused people with the resources needed to find a home. What's next: Cantin said once the encampment is closed and cleaned, it will be staffed around the clock and signage will be posted to prevent new people from moving into the area.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
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 same month last year. Roughly 90% of the individuals in those families were Black, down about 2 points from 2024. Like many cities in America, Atlanta has seen an increase in homelessness — primarily fueled by Black people living on the margins — for a third consecutive year. But city leaders and advocates alike are touting that the rate of increase has slowed considerably. 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% surge in 2023. The results from this year's PIT count show the city's homeless crisis appears to be 'stabilizing,' according to Cathryn Vassell, CEO of Partners for HOME — the nonprofit that manages Atlanta's PIT count on behalf of the federal government. Vassell told Capital B Atlanta that Black Atlantans remain overrepresented among individuals experiencing homelessness due to 'continued disproportionate inequities' in the metro area. The stark disparity underscores the ongoing economic challenges and affordable housing crisis many Black people face in a gentrifying metropolis fueled by a booming economy that has become known as the most unequal city in America. 'We know that there is gross income inequality that is disproportionate racially in our community as well,' Vassell said. 'That is all contributing to the disproportionate representation of people of color in our system.' The PIT count data showed Atlanta's higher cost of living has fueled a sizable rise in the city's number of homeless families this year despite signs that municipal leaders have reached a turning point in their battle to provide housing to people living on the margins. Read More: Atlanta's Largest Homeless Encampment Is About to Be Cleared The nearly 27% rate of consumer price inflation in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro area between January 2020 and August 2024 was the third highest in the nation, according to a Pew Research study released in October. The fact that 8 out of 10 homeless people are Black in a city known as a Black Mecca should 'stop everyone in their tracks.' Liliana Bakhtiari, Atlanta City Council member '[The data] is a signal that the house is still on fire, and the scale of the crisis is bigger than what cities alone can handle,' Atlanta City Council member Liliana Bakhtiari told Capital B Atlanta after attending a briefing on this year's PIT count last week. The fact that 8 out of 10 homeless people are Black in a city known as a Black Mecca should 'stop everyone in their tracks,' according to Bakhtiari. 'That's not a coincidence, that's the product of a system that's failed Black families for generations — due to redlining, due to wage discrimination, due to mass incarceration, due to unequal access to healthcare and education,' she added. 'Homelessness isn't just a housing problem. It's a justice problem.' The report noted the strides the city has made addressing homelessness in recent years, citing that the overall homeless population has declined 30% since 2016 and about 11% since 2020 despite increasing for the past three years. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens has made increasing affordable housing and combatting homelessness two of his signature issues since taking office almost four years ago. Last year, the Atlanta City Council allocated $60 million at Dickens' request to addressing the growing homelessness problem. Those funds, Vassell said, are paying for construction of 500 rapid housing units for the homeless, including 40 apartments at the Melody Project, located in southern downtown Atlanta, and 23 at the Bonaventure, both of which opened last year. Dickens' office hasn't responded to requests for comment. Read More: Revamped Motel Gives Atlanta Unhoused Second Chance— But for How Long? 'By the end of the year we will have brought on 500 units from that $60 million,' Vassell said. Unfortunately, Vassell warns, the progress Atlanta has made housing its homeless population could be undone later this year if President Donald Trump advances his plan for significant budget cuts. The Trump administration has proposed cutting rental aid by 40% in its 'Big, Beautiful Bill,' which the U.S. House approved in May. Vassell called the proposed cuts 'terrifying' and said it could eliminate Atlanta's permanent supportive housing and rapid rehousing programs funded through the city's Continuum of Care resources. As many as 2,000 people could lose stable housing, according to Vassell. 'This would be a tragic impact across our community,' she said. The post If Atlanta Is a Black Mecca, Why Are 8 Out of 10 Homeless People Black? appeared first on Capital B News - Atlanta.
Miami Herald
21-05-2025
- General
- Miami Herald
Proposed cuts could make housing homeless people harder, advocates say
ATLANTA - Willie Jeffries spent four years living in a large homeless camp in Atlanta's Mechanicsville neighborhood. He finally received housing in October but was evicted roughly six months later for violating the stringent terms of his lease agreement. On the first day of his return to homelessness, Jeffries said he visited an encampment in the same neighborhood where he had been living in a tent last year - just off Cooper Street Southwest. He didn't sleep there that first night but stopped by because someone in the camp had a tent for sale. "They want $25, and I don't have that," said Jeffries when reached by phone that day, May 9, while killing time near Cooper Street and trying to decide his next move. "It's been six months since I had been out here. I've pretty much got to get back into it." Jeffries, 60, ended up spending the next several nights sleeping in a truck borrowed from a friend. He and 43 other people who used to live in the sprawling Cooper Street camp received "rapid rehousing" after the city closed the camp in October. The area of the encampment was cleared and fenced off to make way for a development that will include housing for more than 100 people who used to be homeless. Rapid rehousing is a program that offers rental assistance for up to two years and case management services. It is designed to help someone experiencing homelessness by giving them a place to live for a set period of time, often without having to pay rent and utilities. The hope is that they can get a job and eventually pay those expenses. Advocates for the homeless population emphasize that it takes some people, like Jeffries, more than one housing placement before they find the right fit. They fear the problem might get even worse, given President Donald Trump's proposal for massive cuts to programs that play a role in local efforts to prevent homelessness. "Rapid rehousing is also a very challenging housing intervention," said Cathryn Vassell, chief executive officer of Partners for HOME, the nonprofit that works with the city of Atlanta on its strategy to reduce homelessness. "There's less-intensive supports provided, and yet we're sometimes housing people that are highly vulnerable in what's designed to be a more independent - ultimately self-sufficient - intervention," Vassell said in an interview this month. Vassell said cities like San Francisco and Denver have many more resources dedicated to stemming homelessness. "These are incredibly resource-rich communities with Medicaid expansion and county mental health at the table and all kinds of funding mechanisms to support that work of stabilizing somebody in housing," she said. "We're operating on a shoestring and desperately trying to get people out of a very unsafe and terrible situation of being unsheltered and homeless and then trying to make sure they are stabilizing in housing and being a good neighbor and being a good tenant and all those things that collide." The Trump administration has proposed a $33.6 billion cut to funding for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, a funding decrease of nearly 44%, and allowing states to design their own rental assistance programs. U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner called the proposal bold and said it would reimagine how the federal government addresses affordable housing and community development. "It creates the opportunity for greater partnership and collaboration across levels of government by requiring states and localities to have skin in the game and carefully consider how their policies hinder or advance goals of self-sufficiency and economic prosperity," Turner said in a statement. The White House recommendations for the fiscal year 2026 budget also call for cutting $532 million by consolidating the Continuum of Care Program and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS into an Emergency Solutions Grant program that provides short-term housing assistance, capped at two years for homeless individuals. The proposal also includes eliminating the Community Development Block Grant program and the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, which provides grants to state and local governments to create affordable housing for low-income households. "Less people will be housed, and more people will be forced into homelessness" if Trump's proposed cuts take effect, said Donald Whitehead Jr., executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless. Referring to Jeffries and others like him, Whitehead added: "His path is exacerbated by these cuts. It's going to make it a lot harder for him to be rehoused." In Atlanta, one of Partners for HOME's key goals is to move people experiencing homelessness into "permanent housing," which includes rapid rehousing, as quickly as possible, and into the right program for the individual, Vassell said. The term "permanent housing" does not guarantee someone a home for life. It usually involves an initial term of at least one year that is renewable for no less than one month. Permanent supportive housing involves long-term leases or rental assistance and consistent supportive services for issues like mental illness and substance use. Studies have shown its effectiveness, but it also costs more than other types of housing over time. "If somebody is chronically homeless, then we're trying to get them into permanent supportive housing," Vassell said. "If they are not chronic, then we are using other tools like rapid rehousing." If Partners for HOME doesn't have sufficient permanent housing options available on the day of an encampment closure, "then we are rallying (emergency) shelter as an interim solution while that person works on their housing solution from shelter." About 75% of people who leave rapid rehousing in Atlanta either stay housed or exit to a permanent destination, like living with family, in the first two years, according to Vassell. "Shelter is a very challenging environment to document outcomes in general, and transitional housing is as well," Vassell said. "Whether someone is moving to housing or if they're going back to homelessness, they're oftentimes not doing an exit interview with the shelter (or) transitional housing program. "Even if they get housing or they move back in with family, they might be gone even if you were expecting them back the same day, and they're not calling you back to tell you where they went and whether it was a positive exit or not." How difficult it is for someone to transition from living in a homeless encampment to an apartment, of course, depends on the individual. "Sometimes a person gets in and they're able to stay for as long as they have a lease or as long as they have a subsidy," Whitehead said. "Other people will have to be relocated for various reasons." He added: "It is often a sizable adjustment for people who have been living outdoors for various lengths of time to adjust to living in an apartment, for a number of reasons." These include problems getting along with neighbors in an apartment complex and issues such as substance use, advocates say. Jeffries said he was evicted this month for violating his lease, including for letting people sleep there without getting them approved first and for having people over and making noise. His landlord declined to discuss the specifics of Jeffries' eviction. Case managers for people experiencing homelessness say some of their clients make a point of following their lease agreements to the letter, knowing that homelessness awaits if they don't do so. Others still spend time in the encampments they used to live in, making it hard to leave their friends behind and return to their apartments alone. Jeffries said he let people spend the night in his apartment when it was too cold for them to sleep outdoors because friends had done the same for him when he was homeless. "It's very understandable," Whitehead said. "People go to encampments because they are attempting to find a sense of community. When they get a roof over their head, it's a very natural, compassionate thing to try to ensure that other people in that community are safe from the elements and any kind of human danger." On the day of Jeffries' eviction, a friend agreed to keep some of his belongings for him and loaned Jeffries his truck to move them out of the apartment. Jeffries had found work as a handyman but said he owed people money and didn't have any left by the time he was evicted. He was planning to call his mother in California to see if she could send him some. Despite his recent struggles, Jeffries takes pride in some of the positive changes he has made in his life. He said he stopped using hard drugs like cocaine and heroin 38 years ago, quit drinking about six years ago and hasn't been incarcerated since 2003. Now that Jeffries is back on the street, he is hoping for another chance at housing. "If I go to another place," he said, "I'll do the right thing this time." Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
The National
22-04-2025
- Sport
- The National
Vassell's Kilmarnock future tied to top-flight survival
Ahead of the final five post-split Scottish Premiership fixtures, Derek McInnes' men are in ninth place, six points ahead of bottom side St Johnstone and one ahead of Dundee, who are in the relegation play-off spot. Vassell, 32, is back from an ankle injury which has kept him out since January 2 and his contract comes to an end in the summer. Ahead of Saturday's home game against Ross County – who are below Killie on goal difference – the striker spoke of remaining at the Ayrshire club, although where they play their football next season may have ramifications. Vassell said: 'The club want me to stay and I want to stay as well. 'I've told the club that I just want to get fully fit and get out on the pitch first and then take care of everything else. 'It's a verbal (agreement), not a written one as I haven't signed a contract, but we are definitely in the right place. Read more: 'I'd like to stay. My kids were born in Kilmarnock, so we have roots here and I've really enjoyed my time here. 'Every team in the bottom six could go down, so we are all in a relegation battle for the next five games.' Asked if Killie's fate could have an affect on where he would be next season, he said: 'I would probably say somewhat, although I have no doubts that Kilmarnock will be in the top flight next season. 'If the club goes down, there are cuts across the board. 'I don't want to ramp up the relegation battle, that's not how we are thinking, we are not worried about people losing jobs or whatever, but that is just the reality of what happens in those situations. 'I am more focused on getting over the line as soon as possible so we can enjoy a couple of games at the end of the season.' Vassell was named among the substitutes for the win over Motherwell two weeks ago, but was missing for the defeat at Celtic Park last week. However, he insisted he was ready for the crunch game against County. He said: 'It was just a flare-up. It has been a really annoying injury, the worst I've ever had and it's been really tough to get it right. 'It's been hard, especially being captain, you kind feel like you are letting the team down and letting the club down, but it's part of football so I can't think like that. 'It's been frustrating and now I can't wait to play the next five games.'
STV News
22-04-2025
- Sport
- STV News
Vassell wants Killie stay but future could hinge on Premiership survival
Kilmarnock captain Kyle Vassell has revealed he wants to stay at Rugby Park with his contract set to expire at the end of the season. But the 32-year-old forward admits that his future could depend on the club avoiding relegation and staying in the Premiership. Derek McInnes' side are currently ninth in the table and six points ahead of bottom club St Johnstone with five games remaining. They host Ross County this weekend, with both teams joint on points, in what could be a vital fixture in their hopes of avoiding the drop. Speaking on Tuesday, Vassell said: 'The club want me to stay, and I want to stay as well. I've told the club that I just want to get fully fit and get out on the pitch first and then take care of everything else. 'It's a verbal agreement, not a written one as I haven't signed a contract, and we are definitely in the right place. 'I'd like to stay here. My kids were born in Kilmarnock, so we have roots here, and I've really enjoyed my time here. 'Every team in the bottom six could go down, so we are all in a relegation battle for the next five games. 'That's frustrating as well because we should comfortably be in the top six with the squad we have. 'I would probably say that my future somewhat depends on whether Kilmarnock are in the top-flight next season, although I have no doubts that we will be in the Premiership next season. 'We now just want to get over the line as quickly as possible so we can enjoy a couple of games at the end of the season.' Vassell has missed a large part of the season due to an ankle injury. He was named among the subs for the win over Motherwell two weeks ago, but was again missing for the trip to Celtic Park last week. However, he insists that was just a flare-up and he will be ready to go if called upon against County as he prepares for a big end to the campaign. He said: 'It was just a flare-up, it has been a really annoying injury, the worst I've ever had, and been really tough to get it right. 'It's been hard, especially being captain, you kind feel like you are letting the team down and letting the club down, but it's part of football so I can't think like that. 'Now I'm just focused on playing my part for the rest of the season. It's been frustrating and now I can't wait to play the next five games.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
