ATLANTA — The city of Atlanta is enhancing efforts to remove encampments where hundreds of unsheltered people have been living.
On Monday a crew worked on one of the largest ones.
Channel 2’s Berndt Petersen was in northeast Atlanta the encampment is along Peachtree Creek.
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Men with machines were on the move along the North Fork of Peachtree Creek on Monday, and the team will have a lot of ground to cover.
“It’s two football fields long. It starts from this side of the creek and goes all the way back on the other side,” contractor Larry Elder said.
The crew has been hired to remove a sprawling encampment where dozens of unsheltered people have been living in this section of northeast Atlanta near Cheshire Bridge Road.
It’s part of the city’s plan to clear out such areas—especially under bridges—and relocate those who lived there. One spot is a short walk from a number of upscale residential areas.
Channel 2 Action News talked with several people who did not want to appear on camera, but were relieved the issue was being addressed.
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One of the places being prepared for unhoused residents is a building on the closed and vacant campus of Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center.
A cleaning crew and electrical contractors were going in and out of the building on Monday.
Officials say it will be a temporary emergency shelter as the city works on long-term solutions, like the newly opened Melody community downtown, comprised of repurposed shipping containers complete with electricity and amenities.
Back along Peachtree Creek, the contractor doesn’t know how many tons are down there, but he described it as a lot of ‘everything.’
“I don’t know what to tell you. But it’s a mess,” Elder said.
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