Closer Look: City of Atlanta Files Lawsuit Against APS Over Alleged Bond Debt; Housing Advocates Talk Evictions In Metro Atlanta

Tuesday on “Closer Look with Rose Scott”:

• 0:00: Rose gives a news brief on a lawsuit filed by the City of Atlanta against the Atlanta Public School System over alleged bond debt.
• 2:48: Rising rent costs, landlord-friendly legislation and Atlanta’s affordable housing crisis are all factors that have led to a high rate of evictions in metro Atlanta and “semi-rural” parts of Georgia, according to researchers. On yesterday’s edition of Closer Look with Rose Scott, local experts discussed these factors, as well possible solutions to preventing eviction. Today, we continue with part-two of our series on eviction with a round table of local housing advocates who are working to help renters and those facing eviction. Alison Johnson, executive director of the Housing Justice League, Natalie McLaughlin, organizer and researcher with the Housing Justice League and co-writer of the Eviction Defense Manual, and Richard Hunsinger, an organizer with the Housing Justice League, join Closer Look in studio to discuss the strategy behind the organization’s Eviction Defense Campaign, as well as some of the personal stories and concerns they have heard from residents who have experienced eviction.
• 33:31: Closer Look’s two-part series on eviction in Georgia continues with a conversation about how evictions impact specific groups, including communities of color, the disabled and those who have been formerly incarcerated. Natasha Alladina, Equal Justice Works Georgia Housing Corps fellow at the Georgia Justice Project, Rebekah Morris, Equitable Housing Director of Los Vecinos de Buford Highway, and Margaret Burgess, Equal Justice Works fellow Atlanta Legal Aid Society, join Closer Look in studio to discuss the factors that can lead to increased risk of eviction and the long-lasting impact of eviction on people’s lives.

Closer Look is produced by Candace Wheeler and Grace Walker. Joy Barge is a contributing producer.