ATLANTA — Members of the city council have introduced legislation to address homelessness issues in Atlanta, including sweeps like the one that killed an unhoused man in January.
Cornelius Taylor, 49, was killed in a “tragic accident” blocks from Ebenezer Baptist Church when an Atlanta Public Works vehicle was clearing an encampment and accidentally crushed him to death.
Following the accident and a strong response from the Atlanta community, city officials are working on ways to ensure similar tragedies don’t happen again.
They’re expected to vote Monday on two pieces of legislation related to it.
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Taylor has been the impetus for a change of policy in Atlanta. Friends of Taylor also living at the encampment near Ebenezer Baptist Church told Channel 2 Action News they were given just minutes before city bulldozers began clearing the area, and that city workers did not check tents before they started.
Days after Taylor’s death, advocates for the unhoused in Atlanta tried to speak to city leaders and deliver a letter to Mayor Andre Dickens but were unable to do so.
Tim Franzen, who represents the group trying to speak to city leaders and address these issues, told Channel 2′s Tom Jones that police prevented them from getting to the mayor’s office.
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“They wouldn’t let us in,” he told Jones on Jan. 23. When asked why, Franzen said, “They said it’s closed to us.”
Ten days after Taylor’s death, Dickens announced a citywide review of policies for homeless encampments in Atlanta and called for a moratorium on sweeps.
Now, members of the Atlanta City Council have a proposed ordinance that would do that.
Resolution 25-R-3082, proposed by several members of the council, cites Taylor’s death as the reason for the change of policy:
“On Jan. 17, 2025, a horrific tragedy occurred during the clearing of a homeless encampment in Atlanta, resulting in the death of an unhoused individual known by Atlanta’s Continuum of Care as a long-term resident of the encampment,” causing “shock, grief, and outrage throughout the community, and it underscores a systemic failure to protect the dignity, safety and well-being of individuals experiencing homelessness, as well as the urgent need for accountability, transparency, and a compassionate approach to addressing homelessness.”
To that end, members of the council said in the legislation that the city’s current methods for involuntarily clearing or sweeping the encampments have been “consistently criticized for their lack of safeguards.” To correct this, the mayor’s office has requested all use of heavy equipment by city departments, contractors or other assets be stopped until further review is completed.
As far as review, the ordinance will have Partners for HOME, the city’s designated partner for homelessness services, to present a report to the city council within 45 days on proposed procedures, precautions and contingency plans needed to prevent future situations and incidents like Taylor’s death.
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