
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, February 21, 1994                   TAG: 9402210092
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A2   EDITION: STATE 
SOURCE: Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
DATELINE: ATLANTA                                LENGTH: Short

GROUP TO USE RAIL CARS TO SHELTER HOMELESS

A nonprofit group in Atlanta thinks it has found a way to house homeless people with greater dignity and at lower cost - by refurbishing out-of-date railway cars.

The organization, Housing Starts Inc., proposes landscaped clusters of rail cars, with some divided into single-occupancy bedrooms and others devoted to kitchen and living space.

The architect, Wade Burns, said the idea could be used to temporarily house homeless people across the country.

Last week, he showed some partially refurbished cars, along with blueprints and color drawings of a finished community, to former President Jimmy Carter. Carter is the founder of The Atlanta Project, a multifaceted attack on urban poverty that he also hopes can be used in other cities.

Accompanied by his wife, Rosalynn, Carter stepped into a small cell-like bedroom, then emerged to examine plans and pictures. He said he supported developing one of the rail-car shelters in Atlanta.

"It will give us a demonstration place where people can come from other cities and see how this works," he said.

Burns said Housing Starts Inc. was seeking financing from individuals, corporations or foundations to build its first community. He said about $2 million was needed - $1.35 million for the work on the cars, the rest to develop the programs planned for the community.

The idea is possible, he said, because the rail industry is switching from freight cars, or boxcars, to container cars. That leaves a large number of boxcars unused - good only for scrap iron.

Some railway companies have indicated they would donate cars to the project, Burns said.

by CNB