SOUTH FULTON, Ga. — Code enforcement officers in South Fulton are helping long-term residents keep up their properties.
Instead of using their pens to write tickets, they are using their tools to help older residents, like 93-year-old Dr. Rachel Bettis, fix the home she's lived in for more than 20 years with a new senior outreach program, Code Cares.
It could've cost Dr.Bettis thousands of dollars to maintain her property; her yard was overgrown, the paint was chipping, and she lives alone.
"To live in this house on a limited income, retirement checks and SS checks, they don't go up when everything goes up," she said. "Everything goes up and up on you."
Feeling overwhelmed, the 93-year-old reached out to the City of South Fulton’s Code Enforcement Department, where they came up with a solution.
"She took a lot of pride in her property, used to keep it up herself until she got into her late 80s," Code Enforcement Director Brian Morris said. "At some point, it got too much for her to do. So she came to the city reaching out for help, and we responded to the call."
Morris didn't have to look far to find the problem.
"My code enforcement radar would start pinging, and I would see 4, 5, 6 violations we could address," he said.
Morris said his department has a book of ordinances about 1000 pages long, and they always stick to the rules - not following their heart.
"We are enforcement-based," he said. "We want compliance in the community, and we are not often seen as, as you say, warm and fuzzy."
That sentiment changed when they received Dr. Bettis' call in the spring. Morris wanted to give back to long-term community members instead of issuing fines that could escalate the problem.
"We want to bring services back to you all who have paved these roads and built these schools," he said.
Dr. Bettis' yard is the first to benefit from Code Cares. She sat outside with code enforcement officers Thursday morning, thanking them for the difference their work would make.
"I am just overwhelmed by it, but I am so grateful everyone is here," she said. "It means I can enjoy being independent, enjoy my life, live in this house alone."
Code Cares is a volunteer program, and all of the code enforcers who helped Dr. Bettis came on their own time, using city equipment.
They hope more community members will sign up to participate in the program now that they see the difference it can make.
To learn more about Code Cares, click here.
South Fulton Code Enforcement volunteers help 93-year-old woman clean yard
