ATLANTA — A pipe burst in a large Atlanta shelter for women and children has led to a raw sewage spill and, to date, six days without indoor plumbing for half of the facility.
The pipe burst in the basement of the Atlanta Mission's "My Sister’s House" shelter Tuesday night.
The shelter houses more than 200 women and children on any given day, and is known for an extensive wait list.
On Memorial Day, repair crews lined one side of the building off Howell Mill Road.
“We can’t wash clothes. We can’t shower,” said Elizabeth LaRochelle, who lives in the shelter with her 6-year-old daughter.
LaRochelle noted the stench from the raw sewage spill.
“Um, it’s been pretty disgusting,” she said. “You can smell it when you walk in the building.
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“All of us are kind of worried about our kids getting sick and everything else, but I mean, we don’t have anywhere else to go,” LaRochelle continued.
On Monday, management told Channel 2 it received outdoor shower units and port-a-potties donated by other missions. The deliveries were made Wednesday, hours after the pipe broke Tuesday evening, and an alternate nearby facility has been used to accommodate residents.
“As soon as that happened, we wanted to make sure that our clients, whom we care about deeply, had shower facilities and also other facilities to use,” said Jeffrey Cornelison, the Atlanta Mission’s chief operating officer.
LaRochelle noted there can be stiff competition for those facilities.
“You have to sign up for a time,” she said. “There’s just too many people who need to use the showers and there’s not enough time for everybody to use it.”
The building’s challenges boil down to age.
“Old building, old pipes,” said Cornelison.
The shelter is housed in a 1930s-era elementary school, but the Mission says it has never encountered a plumbing issue like this before. Cornelison told Channel 2 investigative reporter Nicole Carr he hopes to have repair complete by mid-week.
“Wednesday at the latest,” he said. “Hoping for sooner than that, God-willing.”
LaRochelle and her daughter are in the process of moving to a permanent housing situation, and said they are grateful for the timing and the assistance they’ve received so far.
“They don’t owe us charity, so if they can’t provide it for us we’re just kind of out on the street where we begin with,” she said.