City of Atlanta wants to use vacant Wellstar facility to house homeless people

ATLANTA — City leaders want to use the former Atlanta Medical Center to house homeless people in the city.

The shelter has been shut down since November 2022.

In the shadow of the vacant Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center, neighbors who live nearby have some concerns. Channel 2′s Berndt Petersen spoke with neighbors on Friday for at Channel 2 Action News At 4 and 5 p.m.

“Safety is always top of mind like any time,” local resident Lauren Gentry said.

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The city is about to close bridge encampments where hundreds of unhoused people have been living. Many could soon be moved into a building on the AMC Campus in Northeast Atlanta.

“This is the city of Atlanta that will operate this facility. The liability and responsibility is the city of Atlanta’s. To make sure the community remains safe, and to make sure those we’re hosting in this facility are safe and protected—having a greater Atlanta Police presence goes along with that,” Atlanta City Council Member Michael Julian Bond said.

Bond says the mayor’s office has worked out an arrangement to lease the building from Wellstar and run what city leaders call a compassionate operation for unsheltered people.

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“I would hope they put in more community resources. I don’t know that police are the right way to go. Easy access to Narcan for sure and access to mental health resources,” local resident Micah Segal-Miller said.

“There’s always plenty of unhoused people on every street here. It’s something we’re accustomed to in some form,” local resident Lauren Gentry said.

Atlanta City Council could vote on the plan next week.

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