Shuttered hotel exposes the trap between unsafe housing and homelessness

 A question remains in light of the dangerous conditions families endured at a now-shuttered Roswell hotel — and after cries for help at a similarly troubled apartment complex in College Park: How did we get here?

“More than 100 rooms were occupied at the Economy Hotel when Roswell officials moved to shut it down last week. In some cases, there were 10 to 15 people living in a single room,” Interim Fire Chief Patel Troche said.

Among the 159 adults living there, several were in wheelchairs or had hearing or visual impairments. The hotel also housed 50 children and 46 animals in conditions described as unsafe and unsanitary with rusted stairwells, exposed electrical wiring near showers and outdoor play areas, no working smoke detectors, and an inoperable elevator covered in plywood.

“Statistically, everything was in place for something catastrophic to take place,” Troche told Mayor Kurt Wilson and the city council during a Monday meeting.

No place else to go

For many in metro Atlanta, the path from stable housing to homelessness is often gradual and invisible.

“People are desperate to stay out of their car and to stay off the street,” said Michael Waller, executive director of the Georgia Appleseed Center for Law and Justice.

Vulnerable families often cycle from an apartment to an extended-stay motel, and if finances or conditions worsen, to living in a car or on the street. But even staying in a motel, while offering temporary shelter, costs hundreds of dollars per week. 

A barrier to securing an apartment, according to Georgia Appleseed, is having an eviction on your record. And even when individuals are employed, they may be unable to cover upfront rental costs, which can include application fees, a security deposit, and in some cases, proof of three months of rent in savings.

“The requirements can be insurmountable when you’re trying to get back on your feet,” Waller said.

Georgia Appleseed legal counsel Luci Ruiz said, the organization spoke with 31 families last year who were living out of cars, hotels, or poorly maintained rental homes. The common denominator among them was severe habitability issues, she said.

“When something impacts their health or safety, they have no one to call,” Ruiz said. “If they’re in a hotel, they fear being kicked out for speaking up. If they’re renting from a corporation, they don’t know who to contact, and no one is accountable.”

“We had a lot of families who were worried about their children’s health and just wanted to be heard,” Ruiz added. 

Hotels, Ruiz noted, are not held to the same legal standards as landlords when it comes to ensuring safe living conditions. Last year, Georgia lawmakers passed the Safe at Home Act, which established minimum habitability standards for rental housing, requiring landlords to provide units that are livable and free from serious health and safety hazards.

Still, the scope of the problem remains daunting. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, at least 15% of homes in Georgia — roughly 582,000 households — suffered from severe habitability issues in 2023.

Hotel haven for crime in Roswell

While the Economy Hotel served as a last resort for many, it was also the site of frequent violent crime and exploitation. Police Chief James Conroy told city council that the hotel is the location of 110 violent crimes since 2022, as well as two of the city’s six murders during that time. 

Seven missing people were found at the property over the last three years, he said. 

In March, officers discovered that two missing girls had been lured to the hotel and sexually exploited. Six men, including a hotel employee, were arrested on human trafficking, statutory rape, and child exploitation charges. 

An Emergency Response

Roswell officials moved quickly to support displaced residents from May 6 to May 10. A command center was established at Roswell’s Summit Building, where staff coordinated rehousing efforts and distributed meals, hygiene kits, and transportation assistance. Not a single pet had to be taken to animal control, and students are allowed to remain enrolled in Fulton County Schools through the end of the academic year, Troche said.

The city also contributed $25,000 to a fundraising effort led by The Drake House, a nonprofit that helps women and children experiencing homelessness. Community contributions through the Drake House were more than $31,000 on Monday. 

“What I saw out there was a bunch of humans helping other humans when they needed it the most,” Troche said of the four-day effort. 

A Tale of Two Cities

During the council update, Councilwoman Christine Hall contrasted Roswell’s “human response” with the recent shutdown of the Chelsea Apartments in College Park. There, residents had long pleaded for help in similarly horrific conditions, but received little visible support before or after the city condemned the property in April.

College Park is facing criticism for its response to Chelsea Gardens residents.

Troche noted that municipalities across the country face the same challenge: There’s “no playbook” for how to assist residents forced to leave unsafe housing, he said. 

“…This caring of our community — it’s tremendous,” Hall told Roche. “From the city, from my colleagues, from the staff, and from our entire community.”