Tag: homelessness

Cornelius Taylor, 46, was killed on the morning of January 16, when a front loader truck struck him inside his tent during an attempted clearing of the homeless encampment where he was living. The tragedy sent shock waves through Atlanta and ignited a fierce debate over how the city handles the residents of homeless encampments. How did a supposedly routine encampment clearance go so wrong—and how can the city prevent it from happening again?

The Point-in-Time Count, a survey conducted at the end of January every year, is mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, better known as HUD. The government and local homeless service organizations use the data to understand how many people are living unsheltered, who they are, and what kind of resources they need. The data from the 2025 survey is set to be released in the coming weeks.

It’s on the coldest nights that Atlanta's unsheltered population becomes acutely vulnerable. A 2024 investigation by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution found that over the previous three years, at least 32 people who were confirmed homeless died from cold exposure in metro Atlanta.

Proponents of sanctioned encampments, like First Step in Athens, say they’re a safer, healthier alternative to the communities of tents and lean-to shacks that have become a part of our cities’ landscapes. People living on the street are vulnerable to violence and arson; these informal camps can also lack sanitation and waste disposal infrastructure, which adds to the risk of infectious disease. But critics of state- and city-authorized camps say there’s little evidence that they ultimately reduce homelessness. In fact, some say they do the opposite by diverting funds that could be used for more permanent solutions.

Facing ongoing encampment sweeps, an affordability crisis, and the punishing effects of the pandemic, members of Atlanta’s unhoused community are amping up their activism and finding support in mutual aid organizations like Sol Underground

Atlanta-based Whiz Socks offers colorful socks designed by Atlanta artists Yoyo Ferro and Jake Llaurado, with a "buy one, give one" mission to help Atlanta's homeless population.

Six nights a week, Marshall Rancifer visits Atlanta neighborhoods to help thousands of homeless men, women, and children by passing out meals, hygiene kits, overdose medication, and condoms—and, if they want, referrals to permanent housing or treatment.

The Dignity Museum, an exhibition that focuses on the challenges and bias of homelessness, officially opened this past Saturday in a bright red shipping container at the College Park headquarters of nonprofit LoveBeyondWalls.

Last winter, nearly a dozen people in the greater Atlanta area died of hypothermia from freezing temperatures, the majority of whom were homeless. When temperatures plummet, homeless Atlantans have limited options in finding a safe, warm space. Here is a list of Atlanta's current emergency warming shelters, how to contact them, and when they begin receiving people in need.

When he was suspected of starting the fire that collapsed a portion of I-85 in Atlanta, Basil Eleby—a homeless man who grew up without a family and struggled with addiction—was facing felony charges that would put him in jail until he was in his sixties. But one year after the fire, Eleby is on the path to recovery, thanks to the help of the Atlanta community.