Articles

Who is Homeless in Atlanta?

Crossroads Community Ministries
October 2005

The number of homeless individuals in Atlanta on any given day varies from 7,000 to 12,000 - and every morning thousands of people wake up with no place to call home, no place to sleep, no place to eat.

The February 2005 Count of the Homeless conducted by Pathways Community Network and the Homeless Census Advisory Council (link to full report here), found 6,832 persons homeless on the day of the count. In most cases, homelessness is a temporary circumstance -- not a permanent condition. The National Coalition for the Homeless believes therefore that a more appropriate measure of the magnitude of homelessness is the number of people who experience homelessness over time, not the number of "homeless people" at a single point in time. A November 2005 Pathways Study determined that, over the course of a year, some 21,649 persons in metro Atlanta will experience homelessness.

About 20% of the homeless are women, and 770 are children. It is difficult to determine precise numbers or percentages. But a 2000 Urban Institute study (A New Look at Homelessness in America) found that nationally, about 38% of the homeless are children. And the U.S. Conference of Mayors' most recent annual "Status Report on Hunger and Homelessness in America's Cities" similarly reported that 40% of the homeless population in the 23 survey cities (Atlanta was not one) were families with children. The U.S. Department of Education, in its FY 2000 Report to Congress (Education for Homeless Children and Youth) estimated 19,623 homeless children in Georgia, of whom nearly 5,000 were preschoolers and over 7,000 elementary school age.

While homelessness has many faces, the "typical" homeless person in Atlanta is a 36-45 year old single African American male who has been homeless for less than a year. He lived in Atlanta before becoming homeless (i.e., did not come here to be homeless), receives no money from any source, has not worked much in the last year, and cites addiction issues or unemployment as the primary cause of his homelessness. Most homeless persons said that their greatest daily challenges are getting food and water, and most believe that job training and employment are the keys to ending homelessness.

That's why the work we do is so important - and why our approach emphasizes personal responsibility.

Crossroads Community Ministries believes that homeless persons have the same rights - to food, shelter and safety, to dignity and respect, to independence - and the same responsibilities as all other human beings. Homelessness occurs for many reasons, including the breakdown of fragile families, addiction, serious medical problems, mental illness, family violence, unaffordable housing, and loss of employment, but in each case the first remedy must be other people willing to help. We believe that while every human being has an obligation to assist those in trouble, those in trouble have an equal obligation to help themselves to the extent that they can. Crossroads exists as a community that offers supportive relationships and tangible assistance to those who are ready to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty.

Crossroads Community Ministries is a 501(c)(3) non-profit whose mission is to move homeless people toward self-sufficiency. Crossroads serves some 3,500 homeless people every year, about 20% of them women. The organization is located in Midtown Atlanta, at 420 Courtland Street -- just behind St. Luke's Episcopal Church, on Peachtree Street. For more information, visit www.crossroadsatlanta.org.