ATLANTA — Louis Deas considers it a luxury to be able to live in the shadow of the Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Morehouse graduate moved to the English Avenue-Vine City area two years ago thanks to help from the Atlanta nonprofit Westside Future Fund.
"It does show a lot of hope and progress," Deas said. "We’ve got people who’ve been longtime renters, new homeowners, broken down abandoned houses, but it’s what makes a complete community. The biggest investment or asset this neighborhood has is its community."
Protecting Deas's community is a luxury he said he couldn't live without. Mixed in with legacy homes, apartments and abandoned buildings are new homes housing those in uniform.
Curtislene Bass is the director of officer support programs for the Atlanta Police Foundation. She oversees the Secure Neighborhoods program, an initiative that allows Atlanta Police officers to live in affordable housing.
"A lot of times, these are first-time homeowners," Bass said. "Using those homes, using this area, we're able to have our officers live where they've been sworn to serve. You have additional security, you have people that are involved in what’s going on."
Funded by private donations, Secure Neighborhoods has given more than 30 officers a chance to buy affordable homes through its Home Officers program, according to Bass. She said it has led to a decrease in crime, and the program has attracted more Atlanta Police officers to join the force and stay on to serve.
Recipients are required to patrol their new neighborhoods and work with youth at the At Promise Center. The initiative includes four programs in total. The Community Courtesy Officer program has qualified officers serving throughout different parts of the city in various apartments while living there at the same time.
The Community Safety Housing program subsidizes in-city apartment residences for Atlanta's first responders. The City of Atlanta has given $500,000 to fund the program, which can supply first responders with up to $850 per month for rent.
Lastly, the Unity Place Recruit Housing program, which opened in 2022, provides housing for 30 APD recruits for six months while they complete training at the Police Academy. The Atlanta Police Foundation said there is another recruit housing complex that is set to be completed sometime this year.
"I don't want them to just think of this as buying a house," Bass said. "The program is really focused on those officers who have a passion for what community policing means. They can be part of the neighborhood, part of the different communities, help with the youth, and they can just help make Atlanta better.”
To Louis Deas, community policing means getting to know one's neighbors, and that's not a luxury. He said that's something everyone can afford.
"We have dialogue. We have dialogue as Black men," Deas said. "My neighbor is not just an officer. I’m not just a resident, but we’re two men trying to strive for our families. We can keep them accountable, letting them know we're aware they're here and that if they're going to be civil servants, then we can call on them, on-duty and off-duty, but we still have a level of respect. Mutual respect is what makes a community grow and thrive."