City’s warming centers open to all who need shelter says Atlanta Mayor

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens walked into the Old Adamsville Recreation Center at the corner of Delmar Lane and Brownlee Road not long after the 865 MARTA bus dropped off a pair of visitors to the center. The men were there to find a warm place to spend the next couple of nights. The mayor was there to inform the media of the city’s plans to keep warming centers like the one set up at the recreation center open for people who need them. “We wanted to make sure we opened up our warming centers so that in addition to the network of shelters that the city has, we wanted to make sure we have additional spaces for people to get out of the cold,” Dickens, a District 10/Adamsville native, said. “Those individuals that are experiencing homelessness that are out on our streets, we want them to come inside.”

Temperatures are supposed to drop into the teens Friday and Saturday, according to weather reports. “During this inclement weather we are making sure we go out to places, we have vans doing outreach,” he said.

The mayor asked individuals to call 211 if they are in need of shelter or know someone else that is need of shelter.

The warming center in Adamsville opened at 8 p.m. and visitors were quickly checked in and had the opportunity to pick a cot to rest on. They were asked to complete intake forms in order to make it easier to help them with additional city services going forward.

Men and women were separated into two sections of the recreation center.

Following the press conference Dickens spent time introducing himself to some of the people inside the warming center

Salt trucks on track

Interim Commissioner of the Atlanta Department of Transportation (DOT) Marsha Anderson Bomar said 24 DOT trucks will be salting the streets beginning at 3 a.m. Friday morning. The salt being a way to prevent ice from forming during the coldest part of the night. “The city of Atlanta is preparing the roads, but we are also preparing for people,” Dickens said.