For six months in downtown Atlanta, a journey began as Garret Culbertson, Missions Director at SafeHouse Outreach, decided to leave everything behind and live in the streets during the winter months.
In between the red bricks of restaurant buildings and tucked between the walls, across from coffee shops and down the street from college dorms, a blue sleeping bag covered with a blanket is seen containing an individual tucked tightly for warmth.
In downtown Atlanta, over 400 individuals are homeless out of the 7,000 people in the Atlanta area. They are scattered across the urban downtown population, hidden behind benches and walking amongst everyone else as they head to shelters and organizations.
Over 2,700 people live in shelters and over 2,000 live in unsheltered locations.
On a daily basis, a group of homeless individuals travel up a steep pavement, pass upscale five-star hotel structures, car garages containing the latest car models, and tourists taking pictures near the most popular restaurants.
Right in the center of the urban downtown area is a gated structured that reads SafeHouse Outreach.
SafeHouse Outreach is not a shelter but it is a faith based facility that is committed to affecting real change in the lives of those in the margins of society, by proving a hand-up, not just a hand-out.
From many volunteers to board and staff members, Garrett was the only individual who decided to immerse himself into the homeless population in urban downtown Atlanta in order to gain a true understanding.
“All of us here at SafeHouse had good intentions, but I felt as if we weren’t really relating. I had this idea in my mind for a while but it was confirmed when one of the homeless, who I call our neighbors, came up to me and said something profound. He told me that it is one thing to just tell me that God loves me but it is another thing to come down and stay in the freezing rain with me and show me that God loves me.”
Garrett took it upon himself as a missions director to take the next step. He packed a bag containing one pair of pants, one shirt, and a kid’s size sleeping bag and left his home to begin this journey.
From November to March, Garrett slept throughout the downtown Atlanta area. In doorways of businesses to shelters, he slept in areas where he felt safe.
Beside interstate 20 West near the Marta station is where he met a group of homeless people that he considered his friends. Underneath the bridge is where they stayed as he made his home there. This is where he learned many survival lessons.
“I didn’t understand the importance of cardboard until I had to sleep on one. Imagine sleeping on a cold floor, but laying on a cardboard brings warmth.”
Garrett’s daily routine involved waking up every morning and traveling to different shelters for food. Some establishments he tried to enter didn’t let him in because of his appearance and smell, so instead he walked around the different parks until it was time to head back underneath the bridge for the night.
The rest of the days consisted of tons of walking from place to place because he was constantly being moved by police officers for being in certain locations.
“Life on the street is similar to the life of a pigeon. The homeless are shooed away by people and fed leftovers. Birds move around people and the homeless does the same. One time one lady dropped off food on the side of the road and drove off. I could only ask myself at the time if I was so hungry that I need to be like a raccoon. How does this give someone dignity?”
SafeHouse Outreach interactions with the homeless is different than other shelters. As mission director, Garrett truly understands what the homeless needs in order to get back on their feet. He knows how to form a connection with everyone who walks through their doors.
“The hardest thing for me to receive from other people was a conversation. Sleep and a conversation is the hardest thing to receive when you are homeless. I now know the importance of a conversation and feeling heard. It’s important to let them know that they are worth my time. All of this can begin with a smile and from there you begin to create a community of people who truly care.”
