Sources: Homeless Task Force May Close in November
(APN) ATLANTA — The homeless men who rely on the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless, the largest shelter in the U.S. Southeast, have been informed that the shelter may close in November 2016, Atlanta Progressive News has learned.
However, no final decision has been made – leaving Atlanta’s homeless community uncertain about their future.
Atlanta Progressive News spoke with three confidential sources as the basis for the above statements, none of whom spoke were in a position to speak publicly.
Previously, APN reported the Task Force was in settlement conversations with several defendants–Central Atlanta Progress (CAP), Atlanta Downtown Improvement District (ADID), Emanuel Fialkow, Emory University, and others–to reach a settlement agreement after several years of litigation.
CAP and the other defendants, as previously reported by APN, conspired along with the City of Atlanta to sabotage the shelter’s operations over a period of several years.
Now, it appears that, as part of a possible settlement agreement, they may finally get their way – the Task Force would agree to vacate the building at Peachtree and Pine – something for which the business community has been salivating for many years.
The Task Force has been in litigation for several years regarding its tort claims, as well as its related dispute over who owns title to the building.
In November 2015, the Supreme Court of Georgia upheld a Fulton County Superior Court ruling that found that the Task Force had viable claims for a jury to consider, including its tort claims and claims regarding title of the building.
It is not clear what the Task Force would get out of the settlement, although presumably something substantial, seeing as how they are a Plaintiff with viable tort claims potentially worth tens of millions of dollars.
Nor is it clear how the City will make up for the loss of permanent shelter beds, presumably they won’t.
Nor is it clear where the Task Force would move to, even if they did receive a large cash settlement.
Currently, the City of Atlanta is trying to place a much smaller shelter in Atlanta’s Pittsburgh neighborhood, and many residents are saying they do not want a shelter in their community.
On August 27, 2016, Dr. Jim Beaty, Board Member of the Task Force, and husband of Executive Director Anita Beaty, posted a Biblical passage on his blog
“Could the oppressed ever find relief from the present-day Judges and Counselors? Isaiah of Jerusalem says, ‘Yes!’” he wrote, then quoting Isaiah 1:24-28.
(END/2016)
Perhaps the settlement will include a property swap? If so, Ms. Beaty should demand that the entity swapping property to her organization assumes full responsibility for health and safety inspections as well as all building rehabilitation and remodeling BEFORE she moves so much as coffee mug out of Peachtree-Pine. Otherwise, the shelter may find itself gifted with property that is uninhabitable and without the funds necessary to repair that property.
This situation will test the mayor’s sincerity, the city council’s commitment to remedying homelessness, and the local resident’s moral fiber. Good luck Ms. Beaty. May the best outcome for those who rely upon your work be achieved.
89.3 fm sometimes has news about Peachtree Pine {Task Force for the Homeless} at 12 noon – 1 pm on Mondays and 7pm-8 pm Wednesdays. It may be short it may be long but it is accurate and from the grassroots.