Rooftop Beds

Some of the shelter's male clients working on the garden beds.

It's not often that you hear about a shelter for the homeless that is committed to environmental sustainability. But that is just what the METRO ATLANTA TASK FORCE FOR THE HOMELESS envisions. This space for those without a home has been in operation since 1981 at the edge of downtown Atlanta. Its vision is to maintain a green building to house the homeless, formerly homeless, and those who have never experienced the lack of a home. The idea is that individuals living there would learn from each other by being together - eating, laughing, playing, working, just living life.

The shelter itself can house 500-700 men, women, and children every day and it is the largest shelter in the Southeast. There is also an emergency shelter maintained for 500-600 men with nowhere else to go. Then within their system, there are several programming aspects that lead into transitional housing, and then eventually into permanent living quarters.



However, this group is noted for one piece of the programming that occupies 80 beds on the rooftop. No one sleeps there, but these planting beds become a route to developing job skills and also provide fresh fruits and vegetables for those who need the shelter services. The gardens are maintained with the help of TRULY LIVING WELL CENTER FOR NATURAL URBAN AGRICULTURE. Budding gardeners learn about growing and maintaining food-productive plants, bee-keeping, and collecting rainwater.

What started as a gardening project has brought fresh fruits and vegetables to the downtown area. Gardeners on the rooftop raise crops using the latest organic farming techniques. Local residents can see and purchase these products at restaurants and farmers' markets.

When those who participate in the shelter's programs reach the Resident Volunteers stage of the program, they become eligible to take part in a free special training program. They learn entrepreneurial and marketing skills applicable to urban farming, along with current technologies and techniques used in organic farming, through this six-month internship, at the end of which they receive a certificate of completion that allows them to teach and train others.

Some of the children enjoy helping in the garden.

It has taken a group of dedicated individuals and organizations to sustain this program, which provides marketable skills and the uplift of being with nature, amidst life's challenges. Carl Hartrampf, a longtime volunteer; Rashid Nouri, the founder of Truly Living Well; and Darron Joffe, a local biodynamic farmer; have all added their skills, creativity, and passion, to this life-enhancing project.

A constant need is for bottled water to prevent dehydration, especially in hot summer months.

Thanks to this article from Good News Network: http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/homeless-shelters-80-bed-rooftop-garden-cultivates-fresh-food-and-job-skills/; and the above links.

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