Atlanta Proposal to Solve Homelessness

The crisis created by a lack of affordable housing and rising unhoused populations throughout many US major cities seems to be a problem that conventional means of homeless shelters, Christian programs and sober living facilities have yet to solve. As someone who has been homeless off and on since 2017, I’ve experienced a variety of homeless environments, the of which is sleeping on the streets and the best of which was in a converted senior citizens living facility. Though there are many levels in-between these two extremes, the solution I believe we need that no one is talking about is to shift our focus from homeless shelters and instead, focus on building affordable and transitional housing.

Though homelessness itself is a rather complex issue with a myriad of details that change from person to person in exploring exactly what caused them to become homeless, the simple solution is to provide a safe, and secure place for the unhoused to stay. Rather than continuing to waste money and resources on shelters, programs and case managers who aren’t actually solving the problem, what if we used those same resources to build 5 story transitional housing facilities with 500 studio apartments, per building. 3 such buildings would completely solve the issue of people living on the streets while 4 would create a surplus of housing that people in Atlanta may need in the near future. Rather than more programs, groups and meetings that aren’t working, we could just provide around the clock security and do weekly inspections to make sure everything is as it should be, then work with the city directly to offer work, health and transportation resources to the people who need them. Providing the unhoused with about 2 years of this kind of support for free would actually be able to help these people get their lives together and be able to progress into finding permanent housing of their own. In the meantime there should be a day center that offers lockers, showers, meals, charging stations, free wifi, free coffee, free laundry, a computer lab, transportation for work, and assistance with getting into shelters and/or transitional housing.

As is, with many shelters creating 6 month programs of “Jesus Loves You” ministries before they’ll even allow you to look for work so you can start earning enough money to get your own place, or they have drug policies too strict for many of the people on the streets to be able to stay their, the ineffectiveness of the city’s current strategy is astounding. In addition to this are the people who have received abuse or harassment at some of these shelters, typically because of their religion not aligning with the one being pushed by the shelter or their sexuality and/or gender identity not lining up with the Bible based foundation of many of these shelters. Being Islamic myself I’ve experienced this targeted harassment more than once and I’m most cases if you report it to the staff, they’ll either start looking for a reason to kick you out, (you’d be amazed by the number of people getting kicked out in the streets for “arguing with staff,” or they’ll just say “This is a Christian organization and if you don’t like it you can leave.” Needless to say this isn’t how you help people with no resources and no where to go. Though job losses and a lack of affordable housing pay a role in the rising numbers of the unhoused, the problem staring everyone in the face is many of us never actually received real help. That’s what I’m proposing here. Real help, and real solutions, in a manner that creates permanent results. If you believe that we The people have the ability to truly help each other and create a world where housing is a human right, please consider joining and/ or supporting the Riverside Revolution.

Simple and/or Duh solutions for solving problems created by homelessness

Some people complain about the homeless sleeping outside but haven’t invested in transitional housing facilities that would provide the unhoused with a place to stay.

Some people complain about the amount of homeless people at the parks and libraries but haven’t built an actual day center to help the unhoused with everything getting back on their feet.

Some people complain about homeless people relieving themselves in public but if there was a law that something like all gas stations, convenience stores, retail stores and restaurants has to provide public restrooms, then maybe the unhoused would have somewhere to use the restroom

Some people like to tell the unhoused to get a job like you can show us to an interview with all of your belongings and somebody going to hire you knowing you are living on the streets. Between trying to find food and water, a place to use the restroom and somewhere to sleep at night it’s hard enough just surviving out here. You typically need stability to be able to work. Like let’s say someone does hire you and then you show up sluggish at work because it rained last night and so you only ended up being able to get 2 hours of sleep, nothing to eat and body aching from sleeping on the ground for the last week or more. Where you going to shower at? Where are you going to get some clean work clothes from?

Random Question but why are the police being used to harass and ticket the people trying to feed the unhoused population in Atlanta? Like if people are hungry with no money and you stop people who are willing to help them from being able to, how is that actually helping anyone?

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Currently homeless and disabled living on the streets in Atlanta and one of the spots I used to use to chill out and change my phone, catch my breath and get a moment of peace is the GT Starbucks.
Been using that spot off and on since 2019 but apparently they no longer offer free water when you have your own cup (how hard is it really to fill up a 24oz cup with water?) and the seating area is off limits to everyone who isn’t a paying customer. Usually I’d have enough money to get a cup of coffee or I’d just get instant coffee with food stamps and get hot water but due to someone stealing my wallet while I was asleep recently, I don’t even have an ID let alone access to the resources I need which is why I asked for water. Nevermind the fact that Atlanta gets hot, and was 11th in the nation for heat related deaths in 2023. Starbucks is just another corporate pig that cares more about what’s in your wallet than they do about humanity. People who refuse something as simple as a glass of water and a seat to someone who needs it aren’t really people anymore, they either corporate robots/zombies or corporate pigs. Another reason why Atlanta should at least have a decent full service day center to help the homeless.

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