The pandemic has disrupted services around Georgia, even as the state begins to reopen. But in midtown Atlanta, there’s one thing that hasn’t changed much with the coronavirus outbreak. Every week, you can still find a line of people waiting along Courtland Street—now standing 6-feet apart.
The people are there to get mail at Crossroads Community Ministries, an organization that operates like a post office for those who are homeless and don’t have a permanent address. It’s one of the few places in Atlanta where they can receive not only letters but key government documents and benefits.
Executive director Tony Johns talked to WABE about the challenges the organization and its clients have faced as Crossroads tries to stay open during the pandemic.
On the limited options for housing, employment and government services during the outbreak…
“People we turn to for resources are no longer doing what they were doing. So we can’t just call a shelter and get a bed for an individual because they’re not taking in new people, and the people who are there aren’t leaving. We can’t just call employers because employment has been disrupted and unemployment rates have shot up the way they have. And most departments of driver services and vital records offices around the country are closed. So birth certificates and IDs and now become an issue.”
