Public Housing

 

These are “the projects” down the street from my house. Isolated between Hillcrest Cemetery and the Highway 166 overpass, I routinely drive past them on my way to the freeway. Over the last 6 months, I’ve noticed that they are being vacated and boarded up. Only a couple cars remain parked out front, a few lingering porch lights are left on at night. I wonder if East Point is following the example of Atlanta, which has now demolished all of its large-scale public housing projects.

I knew almost nothing about the East Point Housing Authority until they made national news yesterday with their tragically disorganized effort to disseminate Section 8 applications. The sight of these boarded up buildings may have contributed to the urgency of the crowd. How can there be enough vouchers for everyone who has been displaced? I am constantly thinking about the ache of lost homes, and here that feeling is multiplied by hundreds.

I parked at the cemetery to visit the vacant complex. The plaque told me that it has a name: Hillcrest Homes, dedicated in 1951. With the blue sky and puffy clouds, and the cicadas humming along with the traffic, it reminded me of a summer camp after all the campers have gone home.

Comments

[Chris Montesinos]

Yes, the housing authority for East Point is in the process of closing down several of their public housing developments, including Hillcrest. What will replace it has yet to be determined.

[Todd]

The trend now is to give rental housing vouchers so that there is not a concentration of low income families in one area. The city of Atlanta and Fulton counties have done this in a couple of places.

[greg]

"Public housing" apartments aren't the only ones being 'closed' in East Point.....I recently noted that a large apartment complex on DeLowe Drive near Headland Dr. has been boarded up. Very attractive.