The Peachtree-Pine shelter is a ‘low-barrier’ shelter meaning that anyone, no matter their physical or mental condition, drug addiction or criminal history, can stay the night without identification. This has made the facility subject to controversy and scrutiny over the past two decades. As the city’s largest shelter, it usually houses around 300 people but at full capacity can house almost 1,000 people a night.
Nadine Wright is the former Director for the Atlanta Mission’s women and children’s shelter, My Sister’s House.
“Drugs and violence were the norm there,” Wright said. “It was a men's shelter but they tried to help women with referrals. Women ended up sleeping in the waiting room or stairway because they had no other place to go. They accepted anyone which no other shelter did...so it met a huge need for Atlanta.”
Denise Briscoe has been a staff ambassador for the Atlanta Mission at The Atlanta Day Shelter for two years.
“I’m glad it’s closed down,” Briscoe said. “We had an overload of people over the week it closed. We actually cleared out the computer room and made it into another room with beds for it.”
Latonda Milner is concerned about the students of Georgia State University (GSU).
“They need to block off the school in some way to control the volume of homeless people,” Milner said. “George Washington University was able to do it in D.C. so GSU can do the same.”
Briscoe is a GSU student and is not concerned about homeless people on campus.
“I do not have any safety concerns, but I know a lot of the students do,” Briscoe said. “I know a lot of the homeless mainly stick to themselves or might ask for money/food, but that’s it.”
Glenda Thomas does not mind the homeless people in her downtown office building where she is the security supervisor.
“As long as they come in, get their services, and leave I am fine with it,” Thomas said.
Allison Hutton has noticed the increase in homeless activity in the city.
“It doesn’t scare me but I don’t think it’s a good thing either,” Hutton said. “I just want to get my lunch in peace!”
In February, Mayor Kasim Reed proposed a new plan to address homelessness. On July 17, the city council agreed to a $26 million bond commitment in addition to the $25 million pledged by the United Way. Part of those funds are allocated for the closing of the Peachtree-Pine shelter.
The genesis of a problem
In preparation for the 1996 Olympic Games, Atlanta wiped out much of its public housing without making arrangements for displaced residents. Between the early 1990s through 2008, the Atlanta Housing Authority demolished almost 4,700 public housing units, more than any other city in the country. In Aug. 2009, nearly 30,000 people arrived to the city of East Point to apply for section 8 housing where only 655 units were available. It was the first time since 2002 that applications had been accepted.
Conspiracy charges
A.J. Robinson, president of CAP, was accused in a 2010 civil law suit of colluding with city business leaders to shut down Task Force. The leaders believed that the shelter was hindering nearby businesses, tourism, and lifestyles of local residents. In court files, Robinson and other city leaders were accused of cutting off funding for the shelter by stalling required certifications for state and federal grants, attacking the shelter’s private support, and even conspiring to discourage Chick-Fil-A’s president to end their financial support of the shelter.
According to court files, Robinson and CAP intended to buy out the Peachtree-Pine $900,000 mortgage and foreclose on the building. CAP and other defendants responded with a SLAPP law suit (strategic lawsuit against public participation) in state court.
City of Atlanta refuses $100,000 for water bill
In Sept. 2014, the City of Atlanta refused a $100,000 payment from Task Force on their $580,000 overdue water bill. Michael Geisler, the chief operating officer for the city, stated that Task Force had not made a payment since July 2010.
“The City of Atlanta cannot responsibly accept the Task Force’s offer of partial payment,” Geisler told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “The Task Force is a habitual violator of payment agreements…Given these large balances, it is simply not responsible to continue to provide water service to the Task Force without collecting full payment on the accounts.”
With the help of anonymous donors, Task Force was able to raise the $580,000 to pay off the shelter’s delinquent water bill days before city officials planned to shut its water off.
Tuberculosis concerns
In Aug. 2015, Mayor Kasim Reed expressed a desire to close the Peachtree-Pine shelter, even through eminent domain, during a speech given at an Atlanta Commerce Club luncheon. Reed told the crowd that top officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told him that cases of TB across the country were being traced back to the Peachtree-Pine shelter. In 2008, a drug-resistant strain of TB was discovered at the shelter and was labeled G05625 by the CDC. This strain has been discovered in eight other states in 30 different cases. At least four clients in the Peachtree-Pine shelter died from this strain of TB from 2014 to 2015.
The near future
The United Way’s Regional Commission on Homelessness (RCOH) will oversee the Peachtree-Pine shelter with assistance from several government agencies and nonprofit organizations. RCOH has instituted the HomeStretch Program and is working with Atlanta’s Development Authority, Invest Atlanta, to appoint an allocations committee to recommend projects or investments that will foster the well-being of the city’s homeless population.