City officials seem content to ignore what they've done to local homeless
January 17, 2008
It has been four months since the Sept.11 decision by Athens city officials to deny Good Works' request to provide shelter to rural homeless families next door to our Timothy House on Central Avenue. The problem of rural homelessness has increased significantly during the past year. We provided 156 homeless individuals and families with shelter in 2006 and 200 homeless people with nearly 4,000 nights of shelter in 2007.
Since the city has prohibited Good Works from providing supervised shelter to the increasing number of vulnerable homeless families, I am wondering what the new city administration plans to do to address this problem? For most city officials, the problem appears "out of sight, out of mind" but not for those of us on the front lines of caring for these people every day.
Our shelter has been at peak capacity every day this year. We are the ones who get the late-night phone calls and have to turn away these homeless families and individuals. Why has our city government remained silent since its Sept. 11 decision despite my request for someone to mediate this problem?
In fact, why has not one city official contacted me to say "how can we work together to solve this problem"? Homelessness is not a Good Works problem. It is a community problem, and we must work together to address it.
Will you speak up? Will you, the citizens, speak to our new mayor and council and ask them what they intend to do about our neighbors who don't have a place to sleep tonight? Will you ask them where they would like us to relocate our shelter since they don't want us to house homeless people next door to The Timothy House?
The increased cost of the basic necessities of food, shelter, utilities, gas and medical care are forcing more of our neighbors into homelessness. I believe that the people of this community care deeply about the vulnerable and homeless. Does the city's decision to deny shelter to homeless families represent your view? If not, will you speak up? Let's not let Athens become known in the national news as another city that heartlessly refuses to address the most essential and basic needs of its families.
Keith Wasserman, Founder & Executive Director
Good Works, Inc.
Athens
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