Atlanta’s Most Notorious Homeless Camp… This Is What No One Tells You

Added: 2026-05-09

[00:00:00]Uh two or three years ago, we had serious >> that come through here and they were all caught up in here in the tents all in the back there. Three three uh serious and we tell we tell the folks that they living back there and they and they they go back there and kill >> they really it be some straightening come up with the bull [music] gangster. You know what I'm saying?

[00:00:19]>> We know outside come and we got Yeah.

[00:00:23]This how I live right here I live >> right here. And my dog I got I live out here for my dog and my dog. I got three dogs and I you know what I'm saying? I be staying out here for my dog. I ain't got nowhere to take my dogs.

[00:00:38]>> This is the bottom of the map right here.

[00:00:40]>> Can't go public.

[00:00:42]>> Trash tents and increased crime. That's what people in Mechanicsville say is taking over one area in their neighborhood. Yesterday, the Atlanta City Council of Finance Executive Committee voted on a land swap to obtain this land off Cooper Street to help advance the city's strategy to address homelessness with housing options for people experiencing homelessness.

[00:00:58]However, people who have lived in the community for decades say they're not opposed to the land getting developed.

[00:01:03]But they don't think that kind of development in their neighborhood is the right move, worrying it will bring more people experiencing homelessness to the area.

[00:01:09]>> As y'all can see, we out here in the bill. I'm back out here with my people.

[00:01:13]Man, we ain't been out here in a minute, man. I want y'all to tell the people what been going on out here in like the last 6 months, 7 months, something like that. They ain't seen out here in a while.

[00:01:23]>> Yep.

[00:01:24]>> We've been we we've been uh taking it one day at a time and and and and we don't even be knowing how we've been making it out here, but it's just been a blessing through the good Lord >> that we're going on out here. Everybody that that knowing we need help, they've been reaching out helping us and and and and that's good. I've been seeing y'all been moving a lot around the city like count to camp everywhere. Been moving every couple weeks. Like why everybody been moving so much? What's going on?

[00:01:51]>> You said what >> the World Cup.

[00:01:54]>> They moving everybody getting y'all out of here for the World Cup. Huh?

[00:02:00]>> The World Cup.

[00:02:01]>> We in the We was in the very back behind us and there new showing them new propert.

[00:02:08]>> Y'all know where we used to be at up on the hill. Yeah, they just put 3 million right there. Ain't nobody standing them apartments right there. And so they uh everybody pretty pretty much getting the RBNB ready and uh they they they you know what I'm saying? They the tents that we have out here. You know, this all this we we don't have nowhere else to go. You know, this all we had to do right here. Try to stay out of truck.

[00:02:31]>> They tried to move y'all from over here too.

[00:02:32]>> No, they they they moved up from uh up there. They moved up up there on the wood. We by the way. back way up there.

[00:02:40]>> Moved up, then it moved up down here.

[00:02:42]Then we've been into houses, but a year just ain't enough time >> for us. You know what I'm saying? To get oursel together, you know what I'm saying? We need we need the uh >> we need at least two need at least two or three years of vouchers. We need we need the vouchers, >> you know what I'm saying? You know what I'm saying? At least three, four years.

[00:02:59]So, we back out here and they put us in places, apartments and stuff. So, we we we we starting all over again >> with our life. You know what I'm saying?

[00:03:08]you know, have to come right back to a tent once they give you for a year.

[00:03:12]>> So, what it's like out here every day like like what's it what's it been? [ __ ] been cool. It's been violent. You know, it been just what you say.

[00:03:20]>> You surviving, but it's just like you just got to take it one day at a time and you don't know how you been made it through the day. You just make it through the day. [clears throat] >> You know what I'm saying? You know, we don't know how we make it out here every day, man. We don't know how we eat. We just we just eat, man. You know, it it become so difficult for us out here >> to where you know what I'm saying. We just know we we all got God and that's only we that's the only way we making it.

[00:03:45]>> God's only one you depend on.

[00:03:47]>> Without him >> he love you first and he created everybody.

[00:03:51]>> We believe in God.

[00:03:52]>> We got to go by him.

[00:03:53]>> Yeah.

[00:03:54]>> But he put in front of >> you.

[00:04:00]We all got our own. I've been feeling like dangerous out here. You say y [ __ ] been cool. Everything else been cool.

[00:04:08]>> The main problem probably like the city and [ __ ] like that, ain't it?

[00:04:11]>> Yeah. Yeah. But the main part we had uh you know this that about uh two or three years ago we had serious killers >> that come through here and they were all caught up in here in tents all in the back there. Three three uh serial killers. And when we tell we tell the folks that they live back there and they and they they go back there.

[00:04:30]So >> damn, >> they go they go straight back there and get them.

[00:04:33]>> So they got they had a serial killer out here.

[00:04:35]>> Yeah, they they had three serial killer out here.

[00:04:37]>> You know what I'm saying? They killing the homeless on the bridge last three four years ago in in in the uh >> they call one.

[00:04:47]>> They get anybody like anybody y'all know is affected by that?

[00:04:50]>> Yeah. Yeah. We know. We we know. We tell them where they be at. We tell them where they be at. The serial killer they hide back in the tent. The girl some that girl named People were hiding them out back there. But they got them when they they that swore that they got know how they went back school for a year.

[00:05:04]The police went back to school for a year. Now they equipped to where they can, you know what I'm saying? Knock down three, four at one time. So they them killer in time be a shooting out here. The police want to see the shooter.

[00:05:15]>> You know what I'm saying? He want He want to see the shooter. They they come up real quick. If you shoot a pistol in here, they they'll be here in this five minutes, >> right?

[00:05:24]>> They want they got they got them where if you shoot somebody in there, >> they shot spiders.

[00:05:28]>> You know what I'm saying? And they want to get the man with a pistol. You know what I'm saying?

[00:05:31]>> Get him. Get him first >> before he get off. So, so they they they pretty much got a good safety uh on this right here.

[00:05:39]>> Yeah.

[00:05:39]>> You know what I'm saying? Then they I'm trying they've been locking them up.

[00:05:42]They've been locking them up. All the violence and the gang related. They might have done locked up by about 300 of them. They don't even let them back out no more. They give them high bar $100,000 bar.

[00:05:52]>> You know, anyone gang related, them bloods and them crips and stuff, they they got all them off in here. They they they the gang related, you know, police gang related crew. They don't lie to them. They not not check out.

[00:06:06]>> Yeah. This how I live right here.

[00:06:10]>> Right here.

[00:06:11]>> And my dog I got I live out here for my dogs. And my dog I got three dogs and I you know what I'm saying? I be staying out here for my dog. I ain't got nowhere to take my dog. That that one of the reason I'm out here cuz I don't have nowhere to take my dog and stuff.

[00:06:25]>> Yeah. So you can't leave. I can't be my dog. There go one another.

[00:06:35]>> But I stay out here. I I stay out here for my dogs. You know what I'm saying?

[00:06:40]>> You know, I got I got a place, but I I have to stay out here cuz I can't take my dog to the place where where I'm staying at. I can't take my dog. They want to set my dog. So, I had to come out here and stay with my dog.

[00:06:50]>> So, we take care.

[00:06:51]>> We take care take care of the dog.

[00:06:54]>> So, what's a good day out here for y'all? Like what y'all get into on a good day?

[00:06:57]>> Every good day.

[00:06:58]>> A good day for us.

[00:06:59]>> Every day God wake us up.

[00:07:00]>> God wake us up. If God don't wake up, he ain't a good day. When God wake up, it's a good day.

[00:07:05]>> Take one day at a time, man.

[00:07:07]>> I don't make no plans. I wake up. What I do, I do.

[00:07:10]>> Right.

[00:07:10]>> I can't plan nothing.

[00:07:12]>> Right.

[00:07:13]>> Y'all feel like that that's like in a way a freer life.

[00:07:17]>> Yeah.

[00:07:17]>> In a way, wake up and you know, just do what God got on the earth for you.

[00:07:22]free man. you know out here doing something you know you ain't got to worry about >> it's good to wake up man in the morning something don't wake up we work for we work for to be free >> we love this is that's a dream come true to be free every day >> so look let me tell y'all let me ask y'all this like if if everything go y'all way and and God bless y'all how y'all want to be blessed what y'all see yselves doing >> coming back and blessing other people >> God want you to bless somebody blessing keep coming in through him And so we got to come back and bless somebody and bring them up and show them how to bless somebody else.

[00:07:58]>> Don't forget where you come from.

[00:08:00]>> Never forget what you come from.

[00:08:02]>> We we going to come up. This this is just what you call.

[00:08:05]>> So is any of y'all um closer to y'all family?

[00:08:09]>> Yeah.

[00:08:11]>> Got to be like that. But we got to keep in touch with them though, >> right? For real. For real.

[00:08:16]>> Keep in touch with them. But keep in touch with you know how staying in the streets. You know the streets eat you alive and people ain't accepting the streets. You know a lot of people that that got a lot of thing on got careers and stuff they they they don't want mess with peoples in the streets.

[00:08:30]>> You know that's a good thing too because you know what I'm saying you know hey when you mess with people in the street everything you don't mess with somebody we do live it make a good week the street just like him. It'll make you or break you, but it'll put you where you want to be at.

[00:08:51]>> It'll change your life though. That put your life.

[00:08:53]>> This is the bottom of the barrel, player. This is the bottom of the barrel right here.

[00:08:57]>> Can't go in the public.

[00:08:59]>> You think that this will break most people out here for sure.

[00:09:02]>> Yeah, right, man.

[00:09:04]>> So So what y'all mind me asking? What What got y'all out here?

[00:09:08]>> Everybody got different situations.

[00:09:12]>> Well, I'm tell I tell you what got me out here. Somebody got uh my my I got a young girl out of California. Her name is Spice. Her girlfriend killed a guy at my apartment.

[00:09:25]>> And when you get a murder in your your place and apartment, >> you can't go back cuz investigation gone. So that would draw her back out here. I was staying in Edgewood uh uh place out there. And uh that was that was I couldn't afford to rent out no apartment for 1,400 a month no more >> because uh I I I when they did that, you know what I'm saying? I didn't have the money and I had I had a have a place over here too. 396 uh roster. I had two apartments.

[00:09:54]>> And so that would bring her back out here, you know, surviving and not not getting in no trouble, not messing with no nobody stuff, you know, [laughter] just doing everything for God. That that got her back out here. I mean can't you can't go in no apartment man uh no homeless shelter all filled up cuz we got 800,000 people here states you know what I'm saying? So it it it really it really overpacked city.

[00:10:17]>> Do y'all feel like the the average person walk up or uh scared to walk up here and like talk to y'all like you know come through here.

[00:10:25]>> You feel like I mean bring us food and talk to us what we need. All of them. I know all the millionaire all they come through.

[00:10:34]>> They they this area right here is so nice and you just calm. You know what I'm saying? And all us always been together. But that's what they doing.

[00:10:43]They spreading us out.

[00:10:44]>> Spreading everybody out. You know what I'm saying? Where they can't get the communication that we supposed to get.

[00:10:49]They spreading us out. They moving moving >> west side, north side, east side.

[00:10:55]>> You know, and then we all come back in a year. We back together in a year when the apartment's over.

[00:11:00]>> Place all we had. He had apartment down Techwood. I had one in uh uh over here where Cascade Cabana.

[00:11:11]>> He had a pot where your all had all had to come back out again.

[00:11:17]>> Had a pot.

[00:11:18]>> All up. See, a year a year was enough.

[00:11:20]So, so we had to come back out here again because we ain't with the uh you know what I'm saying, the robing and taking and and and doing nothing or violent. We just been surviving out here and taking it one day at a time.

[00:11:34]>> So, what's what's uh what's night like out here? Like what's the difference between the daytime and the night time out here?

[00:11:45]>> Everybody look out for each other. You know, >> ain't no black people in the family.

[00:11:49]Everybody look up for everybody.

[00:11:50]>> So, is is if anybody on the board said, do they get kicked out uh of the community or y'all kind of like, you know, I mean, kind of give [ __ ] chances and [ __ ] like that?

[00:11:58]>> Yeah.

[00:12:00]>> Yeah. It it really it be some straightening if you come up here with the [ __ ] >> Got to stick together, man.

[00:12:06]>> We we we we original gangsters. You know what I'm saying? Let no outside come in and go home.

[00:12:13]>> We got we got we got we got other we got some rattles and we got other dogs that come straighten it up.

[00:12:18]>> Yeah.

[00:12:18]>> You know violent with them when they come try to mess with the turf, break in the tent, cut the chin open, go in there. We got people come handling that >> for like they call them they call them shooters and killers.

[00:12:33]>> And killers around here.

[00:12:36]>> You come you come you got to come right.

[00:12:38]No, don't you can't come handstep cuz this this a real life out here now.

[00:12:45]>> Only survive.

[00:12:46]>> Yeah, this real life chang letting people get to know us and and showing other people that and then that make us bigger and better what you doing right now.

[00:13:03]>> I appreciate that. I appreciate that name. That that that'll make us out of somebody cuz we we classified as nobody out here.

[00:13:12]>> They want to know in the churches. They want to know where everywhere where to take to stay in a tent where take they just like they're like seven or eight years old and you ain't got nowhere else to go. We ain't got nowhere else to go.

[00:13:21]>> People tell stories though. They want to hear the they want to hear the real raw stories y'all got. That's why I'm back out here to you know come back and give to them.

[00:13:29]>> Anywhere you see somebody in a tent, they ain't got nowhere else to go.

[00:13:34]They need that that little peace and that little time with their self. But ain't nobody going to put up a tent and tell you that they got somewhere to stay at because you wouldn't be standing in no tent just to be standing no tent.

[00:13:47]>> So ain't no you zip up. You don't turn no >> zip up.

[00:13:52]>> You know what I'm saying? Ain't nothing like going to a home with some lights and some cheese and some water turn on.

[00:14:00]You know what I'm saying? And having life. But no life out here. No life out here.

[00:14:05]>> All right, y'all. Stay tuned. I'm gonna be back out here with my boys later on.

[00:14:08]We fa to cut the part two right now. Out here with my boy Buckhead, man. He giving y'all a little history of the bill.

[00:14:15]>> Yeah, >> man. Tell them a little bit something.

[00:14:17]Tell them about the area, man. Tell them a little history.

[00:14:20]>> This where no out oftowners can come to and sell anything. You know, I'm old school guy. You know what I'm saying?

[00:14:27]I'm from the 80s, you know what I'm saying? And I always been all the way up. But uh this where no none other no guys can't come and say if they come try to sell something serve something in me cannonville back from the uh 70s and the 80s we going to serve them we going to put them in body bags you know what I'm saying the meat truck going to come up and pick them up cuz they ain't gave this our city you know I'm be >> So when you dropped out when you got out in the streets out here >> uh I I've been out in the streets since 1980 out here you know from 1980 1986 Six. We made 100,000 a day. Every day.

[00:15:04]My partner, my one of my friends, >> your group, y'all, your crew. You say y >> my crew. I had 20 25 men. I had 25 men then. We made 100,000 a day. From 1980 to 1986.

[00:15:16]>> You know what I'm saying? And one of them gave it just wasn't flow. You know what I'm saying?

[00:15:20]>> Well, what set what shut y'all trap down?

[00:15:22]>> Uh we all every street in the canyon don't have a spot start at. We started at Eugene Street where the FedEx. We started there in the in the early 80s.

[00:15:33]We used to run at the car to sell the weed. You know what I'm saying? We were running that car and so everybody got so big because I was getting 100 pound of weed then or 30,000. You know what I'm saying? And and and and I was I might purch I get them for 250 out for 350. You know what I'm saying? And then everybody had got the weight up over here and and everything was going good cuz we got guys come out some here too helping us get a lot of help. You know what I'm saying? Like like walk le John headquarter pig them they come out give us some help too. You know what I'm saying? Like we was on her child wipe Mexican mud. We were doing 30,000 a day. Slow day. You ain't no hustle. You can't get 10,000 a day. You ain't no hustle.

[00:16:30]>> So So what changing? When you think the street started to change how everybody had went ch then they came back out and got legit and they never did come out to the race to the run just like this right here in the center. This right here mean cocaine cowboy. That mean the other side mean everybody no rider. Everybody's no player into this this game. Like you got you got to have players ready to play and got no hug profession of being off.

[00:16:59]You ain't going to land till you got to be.

[00:17:01]>> So you was out here when when everything you was out here when Miami boys came.

[00:17:05]>> Yeah, man. Boy came here. They couldn't they couldn't they had M Glenn death trap.

[00:17:10]>> Oh, okay. Yeah.

[00:17:13]>> That choice.

[00:17:15]>> Oh, okay. Okay. Now I'm grab somebody else.

[00:17:17]>> Yeah.

[00:17:18]>> Okay. too.

[00:17:20]>> Okay.

[00:17:21]Yeah. Yeah. So, uh Yeah. I I was I was out here. I was out here when the Miami boys had took flight. They got they got him in 82, 83, 84, 85. They got down through him. And uh I already know them boys anyway. They I've been down to the bottom, you know. You know, I know I know Little I Big Ike. You know what I'm saying? I know Sip. You know, I know a lot of I know a lot of big boys out of Miami. You know what I'm saying? But when they was sending them soldiers up through here, we were taking them sending them back to God. You know what I'm saying? When they when they when they was sending them up here, ain't nobody never pro ain't nobody never live. You know what I'm saying? They had a project up there. When you go in there and them bodies now, they come from out of town. You know, like uh Detroit boys came down 1984 in indictment from Detroit. You know what I'm saying? That when I got to meet my rider red, they was all on the run for indictment or her. That's how I got in. That was what them, you know what I'm saying? Breathe from Detroit, you know. So that's the only crew we let in. When they got out here, them boys got there about 150 150 bricks. You know what I'm saying? Easy for them. You know what I'm saying? with the money machine.

[00:18:40]>> Thank you for watching people of the streets.