Raucous advocates of Atlanta's major nonprofit homeless shelter tried to convince City Council members Tuesday to attempt to overturn Mayor Shirley Franklin's successful move to strip the shelter of public funding.
Some in the audience of more than 100 peppered the meeting with boos for their critics and chants for their supporters. One man waved his wooden cane overhead when he agreed with comments. Gloria Bromell-Tinubu,
The advocates of the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless suggested they may take legal action if the state Department of Community Affairs does not provide a grant that could represent 10 percent of the task force's budget. The budget for the shelter, which serves about 500 people a day near the Fox Theatre, was $1.3 million in 2004, according to its latest tax filing.
The state agency did not fund a $112,000 grant request after receiving a letter from the mayor's office that contended the shelter does not meet four of five criteria for homeless programs. The mayor's chief of staff, Greg Pridgeon, signed the letter and said at the meeting the state could get more for its money if it went somewhere other than the task force. He did not specify which service providers would do a better job.
Bob Cramer, chairman of the task force, said the shelter has been the victim of a smear campaign that included allegations it was filled with lice. He said the shelter, commonly called Peachtree and Pine, will not move or close no matter if it loses money from the state and federal governments.
"Peachtree and Pine isn't going anywhere," he said to a standing ovation. "All you've done is hurt our ability to serve the thousands of people we serve every week."
