Group Discussion Questions
Faith And The City Forum: Interfaith Dialogue on Public Issues

Topic/Title: Ending Homelessness in Atlanta
Recorded: March 31, 2003
First Aired: April 1 at 7:30 AM

Faith And The City Forum is one of several initiatives by Faith And The City, a nonprofit organization that works to encourage a sense of community throughout the 20-county metro Atlanta region by amplifying the voices of the many religious traditions represented in the region.

Panelists:

Mr. Horace Sibley
Chairman, Mayor's Commission on Homelessness

Mr. Bill Bolling
President, Atlanta Community Food Bank

Reverend J. Allen Milner, Sr.
Community Concerns

Ms. Mtaminika Youngblood
Executive Vice President, United Way of Atlanta

The following questions are offered to encourage discussion of the above topic.

1. There are an estimated 12,000 people homeless on the streets of Atlanta on any given day, with many more homeless over the course of a week, a month, or a year. Visualize 12,000 people -- including families with children -- a number larger than many towns and most congregations. If everyone in your congregation attended worship one day, how many would be present? Picture all of them homeless -- along with as many more men, women, and children as are required to reach a total of 12,000. Would that be twice the number of people in your congregation? Three, five, 10 times as many?

2. One panelist described some homeless people as well educated -- holding college degrees. We know also that many homeless people have jobs, work everyday, but do not earn enough to pay for housing. Do these facts alter your perception of homeless people?

3. Do you agree that solving the problem of homelessness requires collaborations among a range of organizations, not limited to the faith and social service arena? If so, why? What other organizations? Do you have affiliations with such organizations?

4. What is -- or should be the principal role of the faith community in addressing the challenge of homelessness?

5. As one panelist pointed out, the faith community in Atlanta has been actively helping homeless people for decades. Consider the suggestion that each of the approximately 6,000 congregations in the Atlanta metro area could adopt a homeless family. What would it take to get widespread support for such an initiative? What would it take to get your congregation involved?

There is a quick and easy way to express your view on any public issue to our elected and appointed leaders: You can find email addresses for hundreds of leaders from the local to the national level by visiting the "contacts" section of our website at http://www.faithandthecity.org. Why not email your views to your representatives in city, county, state, or federal government? You can do it now by clicking here.