In Sandy Springs, Georgia,
WGCL-TV Channel 46 reports:
- Some tenants at a Sandy Springs apartment complex say they're being evicted by an organization that is supposed to help fight homelessness.
24 tenants at the Reserve of Dunwoody condominium complex on Roberts Drive say they received an eviction notice on the front doors telling them they have two months to find a new place to live. The reason, the complex has been sold to someone else.
The new owners of the complex are the Mary Hall Freedom House, an organization that has been fighting homelessness for the past 21 years. They specifically specialize in helping women who have been abused or have been through addiction find proper housing.
The organization recently purchased 33 condominiums in the complex. CEO May Hall says the organization's goal is to find women transitional housing but in order to do so, they must evict the current renters to make that happen.
"When we started thinking about sustainability we thought about we need to own our own place," said Hall. "There was a clause in their lease that said they could be given a 60 days notice to vacate and so we exercised that option."
This was not good news for current resident Juan Woods. He says he was given no choice and must now find new housing before he becomes homeless.
"They just basically said 'alright, we're the new owners. Thank you, goodbye," says Woods. "It's been a lot of a headache because it's taken me away from work it's taken me away from other activities."
That irony isn't lost on Hall. She admits that displacing the current tenants is not a popular move. She does say that she is willing to help those in need.
"I'm not trying to make nobody homeless especially a woman but anybody for that matter but again let's work to make it a win-win," said Hall.
Hall tells CBS46 that she has already assisted one woman in finding a new place to live at the same complex.
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