‘We’re Here Because We Care’ Says Concerned Black Clergy Of Atlanta At Homelessness Event

The Concerned Black Clergy of Metropolitan Atlanta hosted its "Night to Sleep Out" event to show solidarity and spread awareness of the homelessness crisis.

The Concerned Black Clergy (CBC) of Metropolitan Atlanta, Inc. held its “Night to Sleep Out” event on Dec. 16 to show solidarity with those experiencing homelessness in the city.

According to Fox 5, members from multiple congregations across Atlanta slept outside to understand and further empathize with the thousands of unhoused people in the United States. Members set up tents and started fires to keep warm as they slept in the Liberty International Church parking lot in the city’s southwest area.

“We’re here because we care,” expressed Bishop Greg Fann of the church. “We’re here because we want to know what it’s like to be homeless.”

Attendees from all 19 participating churches slept all night outside the establishment, concluding the event the following day. The “Night to Sleep Out” was conducted to spread awareness of the growing homelessness crisis, which is also being felt directly in the Peach State. The president of the organization, the Rev. Shannon Jones, expressed how people are “struggling” to survive in these conditions, which include inflation and rising housing rents.

“An affordable one-bedroom apartment, the average is $1,400. So, we’re seeing people that are struggling, people that are living in their cars and tents,” said Rev. Jones. “They are trying to make it … people who had homes last year, people who had apartments last year.”

Noting how Georgia has the financial means to do more regarding its unhoused population, the religious leader continued, “Georgia has $11 billion that the governor can use at his discretion. We need to put our heads, hearts, minds, and hands together.”

The homelessness crisis reached new heights in 2023, disproportionately impacting Black Americans with the highest increase of unhoused people ever recorded. As for further action, the CBC will continue supporting State Senator Donzella James as she urges Georgia’s government to institute rent increase regulations in areas impacted the most.