City of Atlanta removes Bell Street homeless encampment near Grady Hospital

On Friday, the City of Atlanta began removing a homeless encampment near Grady Memorial Hospital. 

The City posted signs that said the closure would take place from March 6 through March 7. 

As of Friday afternoon, two people still at the encampment didn't know where they were going to go next. 

Xhexania Xander has lived on Bell Street near the downtown connector since December.  

"I'm just trying to hang tough, you know," Xander said. 

Shawn Ward, who is a certified peer specialist and outreach recovery coach with Men and Women for Human Excellence, spent Friday on Bell Street reaching out to people.  

"I've been out here, some people who simply look at you and say 'No, I don't want any help' so you can't do too much with that," Ward said. "But those that want help, I think the City is doing a good job of getting them that help and meeting people where they are." 

In a statement sent to CBS News Atlanta on Thursday about the Bell Street Encampment closure, the city said: 

"There is an encampment closure near the Bell St. area this Friday and Saturday to ensure the public safety and health safety for both our unhoused residents and all residents. This has been a thoughtful and deliberate process that—as always—includes providing unhoused residents access to housing opportunities and the needed wraparound services tailored to their needs.

"This has been a months-long process of outreach and planning for this encampment. As of yesterday, at least four households now have permanent supportive housing, seven families are now moved into rapid rehousing and three individuals are in shelter.

"The Dickens Administration will continue to build alliances—of which over the past four plus years resulted in the most significant and historic investments directly for our unhoused brothers and sisters—to ensure all Atlanta families have the cornerstone of life: access to quality, affordable and dignified housing."

On Friday, Atlanta resident Lewis Hill walked along Bell Street for the first time. He hopes the City will provide them with the help they need. 

"Don't close them out cause the people are people too," Hill said. "They're just unfortunate breaks. You never know."

According to the nonprofit, Partners for HOME, Bell Street was prioritized as part of Downtown Rising. The first phase of a citywide effort known as Atlanta Rising is to find homes for hundreds of people. 

The goal of Downtown Rising is to find housing for 400 people in the heart of the city.

As of Friday, Partners for HOME said 14 people who had been living at the Bell Street encampment have been connected to housing, shelter or support services.

The nonprofit also said more than 200 people across downtown Atlanta have been placed in housing as part of the broader initiative.

In a statement to CBS News Atlanta about the Bell Street encampment closure, Partners for HOME CEO Cathryn Vassell said: 

"Over the past several months, our outreach partners have engaged individuals living at the Bell Street Bridge encampment to identify a pathway to housing and wraparound services to meet the unique needs of each individual.  To date, this outreach and coordination effort has led to housing and dedicated case worker assignment for 11 households and shelter placement for one additional household. Outreach teams will be present Friday to support closure efforts and continue working with individuals on housing and support solutions.The Bell Street Bridge encampment was prioritized for closure as part of Downtown Rising – the first phase of Atlanta Rising, a multi-year campaign launched in 2025 to end unsheltered homelessness citywide and make homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring. Partners for HOME is committed to supporting our homeless neighbors, prioritizing outreach, housing pathways and service connections in our approach. Through this effort, we are changing the culture on our streets and in our shelters – reinforcing with every engagement that we are offering a pathway to housing and support."

CBS News Atlanta asked the City about plans for other encampments; we don't have an update yet.