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Ban on evictions
Residents are demanding the Board of Commissioners immediately enact an emergency ban on all evictions.
COBB COUNTY, Ga. - Concerned Cobb County residents and community leaders are demanding the Board of Commissioners immediately enact an emergency ban on all evictions until the end of January 2021.
During Thursday night's board meeting, they talked about families that have already been put out of their home due to the pandemic.
"The family that got evicted the day before Thanksgiving called me, they were colleagues of mine," Speaker Richard Pellegrino, who is also the Cobb County Chapter Field Director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, described. "Professional people. The wife was a healthcare worker at Wellstar."
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Hundreds of thousands of people across the country are at risk as all of the federal pandemic relief programs are set to end.
Speakers warned the board about what could happen if folks end up on the street as the nights grow colder.
"Cobb County is getting ready to face 43,000 people who are getting ready to be homeless, who do not have any other way to provide shelter for themselves," one woman explained.
Commissioner Lisa Cupid talked with us about these concerns.
"Cobb County's relationship with Marietta Housing Authority is different where we appoint people. We don't have managerial authority but there are some things that we can take a look at that I've seen some other localities do at least encourage their local authorities to consider a moratorium," she said.
She went on to say the commissioners have worked with several organizations to help keep families inside their homes.
"But as was shared here today, there are people who are falling the gap," the Commissioner mentioned.
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It's a gap that folks here believe will be quite large if immediate action isn't taken.
"Come December 31st, it's gonna look like a third-world country. People sleeping on the streets, in tents," a resident said.
The commissioners didn’t discuss the eviction ban during Thursday's meeting. Commissioner Cupid said after hearing people speak, hopefully, the board will feel moved to do something.
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