It was 8 a.m. on a chilly December day when scores of needy Atlantans, many of whom spent the night in sleeping bags, in alleys and under highway overpasses, lined up outside the city’s oldest church, seeking a hot cup of coffee and a couple sandwiches to help get them through the day.
Bundled up in coats, scarves and hats, some had already been waiting outside the Catholic Shrine of the Immaculate Conception since 5 a.m. By 9 o’clock, a full hour before volunteers hand out ham and turkey sandwiches, the line stretched up the block.
Volunteers show up early every weekday morning, eager to feed their neighbors and share some human warmth amid the bitter cold. Many view their work as a calling, a way to help the less fortunate and practice the teachings espoused in the Bible.
Others, like Frederick Price, see themselves in the faces of Atlanta’s often overlooked homeless residents, many of whom live in alleys or makeshift shelters just a short walk from City Hall.
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
“These people are me,” said Price, an animated 56-year-old who ate at the church himself during his three years living on the street. “They’re just like me.”
The Shrine is part of a network of churches, nonprofits and government entities that serve Atlanta’s homeless, a population that is often difficult to track. A survey conducted earlier this year found there were at least 2,679 homeless people in Atlanta — 738 people found sleeping on the streets the night of Jan. 23, and an another 1,941 people who were living in shelters from Jan. 23-30.
The downtown church traces its roots to the 1840s. Though it was spared by Union forces during the Civil War, the church was badly damaged by shelling and had to be rebuilt during Reconstruction.
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
For decades, the church’s outreach programs have been a staple for homeless residents living in the heart of Atlanta. In addition to it’s daily sandwich ministry, the church offers a food market for those struggling to make ends meet, a Saturday dine-in meal that feeds about 300 people and daily 12-step meetings for folks struggling with addiction. It also operates a nearby shelter that houses 25 men a night between Nov. 1 and March 31.
Several people waiting outside said they don’t know what they’d do if it weren’t for the donors, church workers and volunteers who help feed them each day.
“I love them! And they love us,” said Angela Fairman, a homeless woman who has been coming to the church for the better part of three decades. “They’re just so helpful. They help us with anything we need.”
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Fairman receives a monthly disability income, but said it isn’t enough to get a place of her own. Homeless on-and-off for decades, the 61-year-old has been living outside the last four years.
“I’m too old to be out here,” she said. “I have no business being out here in the cold. Nobody with an income from the government should be living on the streets.”
Originally from East Chicago, Indiana, Fairman doesn’t have family in the Atlanta area. But the people who live alongside her and the church workers who help them out have become like family over the years, she said.
Price lived across the street from the bustling Fulton County courthouse before Tilla Jones, the church’s outreach coordinator, helped him get his own apartment in College Park.
He volunteered at the church every day for a year and took a job there seven months ago. Now the Mississippi native spends his mornings greeting others while passing out meals and keeping the long line moving.
“I stayed out here for three years,” Price said. “I slept on the sidewalk, I slept at the back of the church. That’s where they met me, at the back of the church, back there on that ramp.”
Price is grateful for the chance to turn his life around and said he’ll never forget the opportunity he’s been given.
Some of the volunteers say they come in several days a week because they enjoy the camaraderie and meeting new people. Those employed by the church seem to take pride in being able to help the less fortunate.
“The Shrine is a place where we live out the message of Jesus — feeding the poor, housing the homeless,” said Joe Sequeira, who works at the church and has been a parishioner there since 1992. “It’s a place where everybody is accepted and all of their gifts are welcome ... You feel like you’re making a difference here.”
Not all of the people who rely on the church’s outreach programs are homeless. Some have recently fallen on hard times. Others represent Atlanta’s working poor, those who have homes but may need an occasional boost to help feed their families.
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
The church’s free pantry is stocked with staples such as bread, meats, coffee, milk and canned goods. Baby formula is also available for those with young children.
Dubbed the “Community Market,” it’s different than most food pantries in Atlanta because shoppers actually get to pick out what they need, said Janice St. Hilaire, one of the church volunteers. People with a place to store and cook their food can come by once a week, picking out up to 10 pounds of frozen food and 15 pounds of pantry items.
“They come in and they shop themselves,” said St. Hilaire. “It’s sort of like a miniature grocery store.”
On a recent Thursday morning, Wallace Goodson was one of the first shoppers in line. Homeless on-and-off since the 1980s, Wallace said he’s been coming to the church for assistance since the early 2000s, starting with the weekend soup line.
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
The 58-year-old has a place of his own now, but he doesn’t work and says his ration of food stamps only goes so far. He comes to the pantry every two weeks, picking up a few essentials that help get him through.
His shopping list typically includes chicken noodle soup, coffee, cereal, cold cuts and cooking oil.
“Every little bit helps, especially since rent is so high,” said Goodson, a lifelong Atlantan. “They help me so much, I love ‘em to death.”
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
About the Author
