ATLANTA — A cancer patient was among dozens of people forced to move out of church-owned apartments Sunday.
Ehsam Beroukhim told Channel 2’s Tyisha Fernandes he’s recovering from a major operation that had him in the hospital for two weeks.
“I’m in no condition to move,” he said.
Beroukhim lives in apartments owned by Second Ponce de Leon Baptist Church on East Wesley Road in northeast Atlanta.
The church told Channel 2 Action News two weeks ago that the buildings are falling apart and the church doesn’t have the money to renovate them.
“It’s time to renovate and we can’t afford the renovations,” said Jeff Miller.
Now Beroukhim wants to know why they allowed him to sign a one year lease in January if they knew this was a possibility.
“If I knew this was gonna happen, I would have never moved in here,” he said.
Beroukhim moved out today but says he still needs a place to stay until he’s done with treatment.
An advocacy group from out of state came to help pack up his belongings and move him out. The group, called Church Folk Revolution, traveled from Louisiana and North Carolina to help him move.
Beroukhim said he was amazed by the kindness of the strangers.
“This is part of an effort by this church to get rid of affordable housing in this area,” said Tyronne Jacques with Church Folk Revolution. “(We came) just to show this brother that Christians don't behave like this church. This is a very heartless church to do this to these people and the way that they did it.”
The things Beroukhim couldn't take, he left on the side of the road, but he says without the volunteer movers, all of his belongings may have been sitting on the street.
“They're actually showing the good side of Christianity,” he said.
Fernandes tried to get a comment from the church today, but no one was there.