But it wasn’t always like this. Just five years ago, the building sat empty, old desks, chairs, and other furniture scattered throughout, many on their sides and in disrepair. The former elementary school had closed in May 2020, merging with Riley Elementary to create the new John R. Lewis Elementary.

Following the loss on Christmas of two men experiencing homelessness, then Mayor-elect Lester Miller gave Macon-Bibb departments and partner service providers a charge to open an emergency shelter to prevent it from happening again. Led by the Emergency Management Agency (EMA), a plan was formed, services put in place, and the facility was converted and opened to people needing shelter…in less than two weeks.

“I was a person who was one light bill away from being homeless myself [growing up],” says Mayor Lester Miller of his personal connection to making this happen so quickly and understanding of how much this was needed. 

“This was a crisis center, basically. This was not a hotel,” Steve Bell, who served as the Center’s first Executive Director, says of what they told people coming through the doors. “I’m just trying to make sure you stay alive.”

“Initially, when we opened, it was simply to give them a warm place to stay and a meal and then give our caseworkers a chance to have a conversation with them,” says Alison Bender, who began as a volunteer and was later named the Executive Director. 

While the story of how quickly the doors opened to people in need, the truly moving story is how the community opened its arms. To create a safe environment for people. To welcome them inside and make them feel at home…and then to give them the tools and confidence to find their own home.

The building wasn’t truly set up for living. There were cots in the rooms and donated sheets and linens. There were bathrooms but no showers. There was a kitchen, but nothing was hooked up and no one to serve the meals. So, a call went out to the community: “we need your help.”

And Macon-Bibb – as it does time and time again – showed up and showed out.

Tens of thousands of items were donated, from clothing items to shampoo to deodorant to book bags to socks and shoes to coats and clothes to toothbrushes to hairbrushes…and so, so much more. People volunteered to serve the three meals a day. Businesses, without being asked, donated tens of thousands of dollars. 

“It was such an overwhelming response, we had to stop accepting donations here at Brookdale and set up a drop off location at the Fire Station down the street,” adds EMA Director Spencer Hawkins.

“I knew that this was something I could continue to be part of,” Bender says of her first week volunteering.

“I’ve never seen the community support something lie they did Brookdale,” says Bell. “My heart was overwhelmed with the amount of love that came out of this community, and also lighting the spark back in me to do as well as I could for the individuals that were here.”

However, just having supplies and a place for people to put their head wouldn’t be enough for the volunteers, for the staff, for the partners, or for the Mayor. There needed to be a next step for people…they couldn’t just go back to sleeping outside or in blighted homes. They needed a path forward, and when they walked away from Brookdale, they needed to be better prepared for life. 

So, the Warming Center almost immediately began evolving to the Resource Center. Birth certificates, social security cards, housing applications, veteran affairs, addiction support, mental health services, job applications, real world skills…all were provided to residents. Holiday parties, birthdays, celebrations, get togethers, chores, responsibilities, homework assistance, tutors…education and social aspects were all included in living in a home like this. 

Whatever they needed to help them move toward permanent housing and find some kind of stability and normalcy.

“The folks walking in through this door, are coming in at some of the worst moments in their lives,” says Hawkins of what he stressed to the staff. “We need to ensure they are treated and cared for with respect, dignity, and compassion.”

“It’s already traumatic in some way for everyone involved, and we just want people to feel like they belong here while they’re here,” says Bender.

She can still recite the names of the children who have stayed at the Center and even talk about their progress in school. When she talks of them, her voice is filled with the same love and pride as she speaks of her own children.

There’s a real connection between the people working and volunteering at Brookdale and those who used to stay there. It’s not just the children Bender and Bell remember…they still run into some of the people in stores and in public. 

“I’m proud of you; congratulations,” Bender says she wishes she could tell every person that came through Brookdale. “I knew you could do it all along. I’m glad you believed in yourself.”

And that warmth indicates something deeper about Brookdale. It’s not just changing the lives of the people staying there…it’s changing the lives of every person involved.  

“This organization sparked something in other nonprofits,” says Bell of the first few months. “Raising money can be tough…it was not tough here. We had businesses coming to us just wanting to donate money and volunteer hours.”

“The people we see, the people that come through, have an impact on us, I hope as much as we have on them,” says Bender.

“Thank you for changing the life of a child,” Mayor Miller says he wants to say to every person that has worked there, that has donated to the residents, or who has spent time volunteering in the Center.

Brookdale is still opening its doors to people in need and is at the center of the community’s effort to help people in need. It is still changing to meet the ever-evolving needs of the community. It – and most importantly – the residents still need our community to come forward and help. 

“We still have people living on the streets. We still have people not turning on the heat in their home because they can’t afford it,” says Hawkins. “The community needs us to step in a way that is still necessary five years after we opened these doors.”

Five years later, nearly 5,000 have come through its doors. 

Five years later, nearly 5,000 people have had a warm and safe place to stay and had the chance to move toward permanent housing.

Five years later, Macon-Bibb is in the midst of a transformative experience that is changing the way it views people experiencing homelessness and people who are housing insecure.

And it all started by a group of people and organizations who opened the doors to people in need…and didn’t take no for an answer.

Its opening had only been announced two days prior, on January 4.

It was physically set up to from January 1-5.

The first partner meetings on what was needed to make it work took place December 29-31.

The first official planning meeting was December 28.

From December 25-28, phones were buzzing with texts, calls, and messages about the need to do something…discussions about what was even possible.

Because on December 25, Macon-Bibb faced a tragedy, one that ultimately lit a fire in an entire community to do something different…something transformative…something to truly help people.

Larry Howard & Manuel Foster.

Two men experiencing homelessness who lost their lives on Christmas because they were sleeping in the severe cold that night. Two men – not names – who have not been forgotten by the people of Macon-Bibb County.

“We took a leap of faith wanting to do what was right for the community. We got everyone involved and said in no uncertain terms we were going to do this,” Mayor Lester Miller – who hadn’t even been sworn for his first term when the planning began – says of that two week period. “In a short period of time, we were able to do something spectacular. We weren’t going to take no for an answer.”

According to Emergency Management Agency (EMA) Director Spencer Hawkins – who was tapped to lead the effort – his first conversation with Mayor Miller that Monday wasn’t brief, but the message was clear and direct: “Open a warming center quickly. What do you need?”

So, he laid out the needs for a shelter operation (a building, cots, food, staff, etc.), all things the EMA had spent years training the community to set up quickly. “We know how to do mass care operations…and how to keep people safe in dangerous situations,” he says.

“I know his passion, his heart, his work ethic…he was the first person I was going to go to,” says Mayor Miller of his calling on EMA to take lead. “It had the partnerships, technology, and systems in place to get it organized.”

But it would take more than a single meeting of two people talking to really get it going. Dozens of people gathered daily in person and online to discuss what would be needed. Multiple site visits to the former elementary school were made to figure out how and where things would be set up.

“The relationship with the Bibb County School District really took away our biggest hurdle: the building,” says Mayor Miller. “They were at the center of making this happen.”

In the middle of this preparation, the Mayor and Commissioners had their Inauguration Ceremony, and Larry Howard & Manuel Foster were remembered in the Mayor’s speech. A pledge was made.

“This is wholly unacceptable, especially in this community where caring for one another is a way of life,” the Mayor said in his speech that day. “Make no mistake, we will take decisive action, immediately, to protect our most vulnerable neighbors.”

The next day was New Year’s Eve, and one more in-person meeting was held among the partners before the physical work to set up the building truly began. For nearly a week, firefighters, Public Works crews, EMA staff, Commissioners, volunteers, school district staff, and more spent their time getting the building physically ready to open.

Desks and chairs were moved to the gym, plumbing was tested, cots were set up, the admissions area was prepared…and a whole list of more work needing to be done was created. Commissioners Bill Howell & Wilder even made several trips to Tennessee to pick up the first of many loads of donated linens, towels, and pillows.

“The more we started talking about this and people started doing their part, it became easier and easier. And our team grew and grew,” says Mayor Miller. “It took a tremendous effort by a lot of people.”

During the setup, Steve Bell was invited for a tour of the facility and to talk about the plans for the Center. He would then be invited to take on the role as its first Executive Director.

“When I came that first day, the firemen were moving beds into the school,” he says. It was a daunting task, but one he wanted to be part of immediately. “There was nothing like this in the community. I’m so thankful we could offer a respite to people who needed it.”

Monday, January 4, at 11:00 a.m., the partners gathered in the cafeteria of the still being converted former elementary school. They were the people who had been meeting nearly daily to talk about what people needed the most and what could be provided in a facility that most thought wasn’t possible just two weeks prior…but immediately saw how much good it could do. They had brought their entire resources to bear on making that day and the opening possible.

They were the people and groups that wouldn’t take no for an answer…all to make sure people could regain stability in their lives.

“Our entire community should be proud of the outpouring of support and speed of effort to find a temporary solution to this challenge while we work to find effective and sustainable long-term solutions,” Mayor Miller said at the announcement. “What we’re opening this week is just the first step in what we want to make available here.”

Two days later at noon, the doors opened to anyone who needed it. It may have just been cots and linens for the moment, but it was safe and warm. It was a space they could call their own for a time, and people were there waiting to help them. They could get hot meals, birth certificates, Social Security cards, addiction counseling, mental health support, a haircut, help with housing and job applications, clean clothes, toiletries, and, eventually, a hot shower.

“There was no soft opening, there was no ribbon cutting,” says Bell. “It was: there is a need in this community, and action took place quickly.”

Someone walking in on the first day, in the first hour, was an indicator of the need in Macon-Bibb. But before that person walked in the door, before they had that warm and safe place to stay…people and organizations had come together, and a building was made ready.

We were “filling a gap in the community, and [opening quickly] showed we had the capacity to care, the capacity to hope,” says Hawkins.

“It was a lot of hard work. A lot of people caring. A lot of love,” says Mayor Miller.

And by not taking no for an answer.

Part 2 – creating Brookdale inside the walls – will be published Friday, February 13.

“As our community grows and changes, so do the levels of risk posed by various threats and hazards,” says Robert McCord, EMA Deputy Director. “By reviewing our potential risks and planning for preparation and response, we can reduce or eliminate the impacts from the threats.”

Four meetings will be held to go over different aspects of the plan and solicit feedback. The first three meetings will be held in Commission Chambers at City Hall (700 Poplar Street) on the following dates and times. The fourth and final meeting on April 6, at 6:00 p.m., will be held in the meeting space at the Macon Mall (3661 Mercer University Drive), which is by the Board of Elections.

February 5 * 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

March 9 * 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

April 6 * 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.

“This meeting is open to anyone who wants to learn more about how we prepare for disasters or would like to provide us information. We want different points of view and new ideas so we have a complete view of our community,” adds McCord. “Everyone’s voice should be heard and be part of making our community more prepared for future disasters.”

There is an online survey currently live seeking additional input that people can provide. It will be open until February 4, 2026, and can be taken by clicking here: www.bit.ly/maconmitigation.

This inaugural month-long celebration, which stems from the International Association of Emergency Managers, aims to promote the field of emergency management to leaders across all sectors.

“This recognition is testament to the hard work and dedication of the entire emergency management team,” said EMA Director Spencer Hawkins. “I want to personally acknowledge the incredible staff of the Macon-Bibb County Emergency Management Agency. Day in and day out, they work tirelessly to prepare our community for any challenge that may come our way.”

By engaging and educating decision-makers and chief executives, National Emergency Management Awareness Month will help to build a deeper understanding of the profession and highlight the critical role emergency managers play in safeguarding communities and organizations. National Emergency Management Awareness Month is a coordinated, industry-wide campaign designed to promote the capabilities of emergency management and highlight the contributions of emergency managers.

Click here to read the full proclamation.