ATLANTA, Ga. — A Southwest Atlanta non-profit is delaying the opening of their afterschool program after vandals left a mess inside their property in the Perkinson neighborhood. Now they’re trying to make repairs so they can get back up and running.
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It is not the welcoming afterschool spot Kawon Jones and his wife were hoping to have ready for this school year.
“Damaged this whole sheet rock in this area,” Jones explained. Jones and his wife operate Agape Life Prevention Center. They taught afterschool dance and art classes but were starting an afterschool program this school year. Until weeks ago, they found this in the property they were set to occupy.
“We were flabbergasted. We were completely let down,” said Jones after showing multiple sinks that were destroyed and now on the ground.
The electric panel is destroyed; there are water leaks and the copper is gone. They were hoping they would be able to start their afterschool program with dance and art classes in weeks.
“We were hoping to maybe walk in and just change a few things, paint some walls, maybe change a thing here and there and get started," said Jones. But now, “being that this sense of damage that we have, we’re looking not this particular school year but 2027.”
Now they’re working to get the funds to get this place back in shape with a GoFundMe page.
“Based off the local estimates for our plumbing, HVAC, and electrical, we’re hoping to raise about $50,000,” said Jones.
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