‘We’re Here Because We Care’ Says Concerned Black Clergy Of Atlanta At Homelessness Event

The Concerned Black Clergy (CBC) of Metropolitan Atlanta, Inc. held their “Night To Sleep Out” event on Dec. 16 to showcase their solidarity with those experiencing homelessness in the city.

According to Fox 5, members from multiple congregations across Atlanta slept outside to understand and further empathize with the thousands of unhoused people in the United States. Members set up tents and started fires to keep warm as they slept in the Liberty International Church parking lot in the city’s southwest area.

“We’re here because we care,” expressed Bishop Greg Fann of the church. “We’re here because we want to know what it’s like to be homeless.”

Attendees from all 19 participating churches slept all night outside the establishment, not concluding the event until the following day. The “Night To Sleep Out” was conducted to spread awareness of the growing homelessness crisis, which is also being felt directly in the Peach State. The president of the organization, Reverend Shannon Jones, expressed how people are “struggling” to survive in these conditions, which include inflation and rising housing rents.

“An affordable one-bedroom apartment, the average is $1,400. So, we’re seeing people that are struggling, people that are living in their cars and tents,” said Rev. Jones. “They are trying to make it … people who had homes last year, people who had apartments last year.”

The religious leader continued, noting how Georgia has the financial means to do more regarding its unhoused population,

“Georgia has $11 billion that the governor can use at his discretion. We need to put our heads, hearts, minds, and hands together.”

The homelessness crisis has reached new heights in 2023, disproportionately impacting Black Americans with the highest increase of unhoused people ever recorded. As for further action, the CBC will continue supporting State Senator Donzella James as she urges Georgia’s government to institute rent increase regulations in areas impacted the most.