‘Unfortunate inevitabilities’: A reflection on deaths at The Melody, Atlanta’s apartment complex for unhoused people

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When Wanda Sutton told me last week that three of her neighbors at The Melody had died since the city-run “rapid housing” 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.

But last Wednesday, a Melody tenant known by the residents as Mr. Henry was found dead in his small shipping-container apartment. City officials confirmed that he was the third Melody resident who’d died since moving in last year. All three residents appeared to have succumbed to long-term illnesses.

News of the deaths quickly drew the ire of several Melody residents and local housing advocates, who accused the city and its nonprofit partners of failing to properly care for their residents, who often are dealing with chronic addictions, mental health problems, and diseases. But it also reflected a heart-rending reality about the challenges major cities face when striving to help vulnerable people get off the streets — and the challenges those folks face themselves as they try to acclimate to stable housing after learning to live in the urban wilderness.

As I investigated further, one thing became increasingly clear: This story was about the harsh realities of life for people who have spent years on the streets. That was the real system failure.

Toll of chronic homelessness

Atlanta’s expensive housing market is unforgiving for lower-income people, especially for those experiencing homelessness, since they often are living with unaddressed or under-addressed ailments. When they finally find stable housing, those health problems don’t just vanish.

The average Melody resident is 60 years old and has spent years living unsheltered, according to Partners For Home, the city of Atlanta’s homeless services provider. 

“Unhoused individuals’ mortality is 30 years shorter than their housed counterparts,” said Cathryn Vassell, Partners For Home’s executive director. “A big part of the challenge we face is that, by the time we get somebody into supportive housing, they might already be very sick — and while housing is a social determinant of health, there’s a lot of irreversible damage that we can’t change the course of.”

“We can ensure that they’re in a comfortable, safe setting, and that they are getting the healthcare that they need,” she added. “But we can’t stop the inevitable — nor can a doctor or hospital, in many cases — for somebody who’s sick.”

Partners For Home identifies the tenants for Atlanta’s new rapid housing projects based on the Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool (SPDAT), which essentially measures how difficult a person’s life has been to determine their eligibility. People with higher scores — in other words, with more chronic conditions — are more likely to gain permanent supportive housing at city-run complexes like The Melody.

Residents raise concerns

A trip to The Melody last week revealed a sobering dichotomy of opinions on the deaths of three residents. Of the few tenants who were willing to speak with me — both on and off the record — some suggested the complex’s most at-risk residents were not getting adequate care through the government-backed support system, while others swore by the quality of care. But  one underlying theme emerged: These are adults, and they are not owed — nor do they expect — overzealous hand-holding.

“This is very sad, because no one was checking to make sure the residents are okay,” said Sutton, 61, one of The Melody’s first tenants. “There are sick people here, who don’t have family to check on them every day.”

Some of Sutton’s neighbors nodded in agreement. Others, however, assured me that The Melody’s property manager, case workers, and counselors were doing the best residents could ask for with the limited resources available.

Some residents were wary of my presence, saying they feared my reporting might jeopardize The Melody’s future — and even get it shut down. I assured them that was not my intent. But I did want to ask if the city, Partners For Home, and Hope Atlanta, which provides full-time case managers on site to connect The Melody’s residents with services, had failed these three residents? Or were their deaths due to larger systemic challenges?

Sufficient support staff?  

One housing advocate, Monica Johnson, the organizing director for Housing Justice League, called the three deaths at The Melody “terrifying,” and questioned the quality of the supportive services available to residents. “We know that homelessness greatly increases the risk of death and other adverse health outcomes,” Johnson said in an email. “Cursory checkups [on tenants] won’t cut it. It takes real investment in folks’ wellbeing.”

But Vassell, of Partners For Home, rejected the notion that the city’s supportive service providers for  the rapid housing initiative had dropped the ball. 

Vassell said two clinical social workers and two peer-support specialists work full-time, Monday through Friday, at The Melody, which means there are two staff members per each 20 residents. “As far as healthcare goes, they’re not medical providers, but the expectation is that they’re seeing clients regularly, and they’ve created a service plan,” she said.

To craft a service plan for each resident, Vassell said, a staff member will ask if they’re receiving medical care. For those who aren’t, the social worker will work with them to get reconnected. The same goes for disability benefits and other social services. 

Despite the care services, Vassel said, some deaths are “unfortunate inevitabilities” for a tenant population made up of chronically homeless people. 

The Melody’s staff from Hope Atlanta is attuned to the fact that many of their recently rehoused clients carry trauma that can affect their “physical, psychological, and emotional safety,” said Hope Atlanta’s COO, Elizabeth Banks, in an email. 

The staff’s approach is “rooted in building strong, trusting relationships with each resident and providing individualized care plans designed to promote housing stability, independence, and overall well-being,” she said.

The frequency of the staff’s wellness checks depends on each resident’s individual needs, Banks added. The checks could be monthly home visits to assess their living conditions, weekly or biweekly check-ins to monitor their health and overall stability, or more regular, personalized engagements. “These are reviewed and revised quarterly, or as circumstances change, to ensure residents stay on track toward their personal goals,” Banks said. 

A Melody property manager I met on Friday, who asked not to be named, said she tries to check on residents daily. She’s the one who found all three of the deceased residents. Those discoveries clearly rattled her, but she said they also reinforced the importance of her role.

Even though Sutton, the Melody resident, had criticized staff for not checking on residents enough, she didn’t blame them for the deaths. Some of her neighbors warrant a more watchful eye than others, she said, due to their medical issues, but as a diabetic who uses a wheelchair, she said she’s never had an issue getting the care she needs at The Melody. 

As for the deaths of her neighbors, Sutton said they’re “shocking, but not surprising.” Mr. Henry, she added, had looked thinner and thinner before disappearing into his apartment for a few days.

Atlanta rapid rehousing’s future

In a statement to Atlanta Civic Circle, Mayor Andre Dickens said, “We are saddened by the loss of one of the residents of The Melody. Our thoughts and prayers are with their family, friends, and neighbors.”

“Homelessness is an urgent and traumatic experience that often causes significant physical and psychological harm to those experiencing it,” he continued. “We built The Melody to give more opportunities for our residents experiencing homelessness to have access to housing, healthcare, and a quality support system.”

Dickens said the city is committed to building more rapid housing like The Melody, “to help our homeless neighbors out of their tough situation, often through no fault of their own, and into stable housing.”

Plus, as Johnson, the Housing Justice League organizer, noted, “We need to be in the business of preventing homelessness by building more deeply affordable housing, because there is no way to cheaply and quickly turn back the clock after someone has been living on the street.”

The Melody caters to a very specific group of Atlantans — older people with chronic disabilities who rely on additional assistance. In many ways, it resembles a senior home, with residents milling about with walkers and wheelchairs, and towing oxygen tanks with them to the smoking area. For these residents, The Melody, though imperfect, is exactly what’s needed. We need more like it.