When Wanda Sutton told me last week that three of her neighbors at The Melody had died since the city-run “rapid rehousing” complex for formerly homeless people opened this time last year, it triggered my journalistic alarm bells.
There are only 40 tenants at the small shipping container village downtown — and some 7% of them had already died? Something must be very wrong, I reasoned.
The Melody, located at 184 Forsyth Street, is the pilot project for the city of Atlanta’s effort — the rapid rehousing initiative — to create 500 much-needed affordable housing units by the end of 2025 for people experiencing chronic homelessness. It opened on Jan. 26, 2024 to much fanfare from city officials and housing advocates, who highlighted the wraparound services for tenants, including job training and assistance with mental health, substance use, and medical needs…