Today we’d like to introduce you to Tracy Woodard.
Tracy, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’ve worn two hats all my life: classical violinist and homeless advocate. About the same time I began to branch out in the Atlanta arts scene, where I became a board member of Eyedrum art gallery, started the string quartet Cantos Y Cuentos and became director of the chamber group Atlanta Contemporary Ensemble, I became executive director of the homeless outreach organization Mad Housers.
Has it been a smooth road?
The non-profit world takes a lot of patience, especially when you have some unorthodox ideas! But I’ve met so many passionate individuals, both in the arts and the outreach community, and Atlanta has the psychic bandwidth to accommodate us all.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Mad Housers – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Mad Housers builds small modular shelters for chronically homeless adults and gives them away for free. It was founded by Georgia Tech architecture students in 1987 and since then has constructed hundreds of shelters across Georgia, been displayed at museums in Milan, Linz, Manhatten, and the MODA here in Atlanta, and been featured in numerous academic studies on industrial design. We are a harm reduction housing model that believes everyone has a right to shelter, and that any problem you’re dealing with, whether it’s mental health, physical disability, or substance abuse, won’t improve if you’re sleeping under a bridge.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Atlanta has engineer’s disease. This is fantastic because we love to solve problems and try out new ideas. It also means we have a habit of building solutions for a client we don’t understand. If I were to change one thing, I would amend the Georgia constitution to mirror the one in New York, where shelter was defined as a basic human right and we could have a more coordinated housing effort across the entire state.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2175 Worthem Ave SW
Atlanta GA 30311 - Phone: 4049394287
- Email: president@madhousers.org
- Instagram: @MadHousersAtl
- Facebook: @mad.housers.atl
- Twitter: @MadHousers
Image Credit:
Personal photo (red dress) by Freddierio
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