After two cold-related deaths, Macon‑Bibb officials opened Brookdale warming center

An official who identified themself as mayor of Macon‑Bibb County said December 2020 marked a turning point for the county’s response to cold-weather homelessness after receiving a call from Leon Jones that two men had died of exposure.

"Two men that I remember their names distinctly, have passed away because of the, you know, the temperatures outside," the mayor said, naming Larry Howard and Emmanuel Foster and identifying them as men in their sixties from Macon in Bibb County.

The speaker said those deaths "elevated" sheltering to a top priority. He described rapid coordination with the county Emergency Management Agency, volunteers, firefighters and commissioners and recounted a direct offer from the mayor‑elect to help secure a location and staff to open an emergency warming center.

Staff at the meeting said they had cots, blankets and the operational know‑how but needed a site and personnel to run the facility. The mayor‑elect, identified in the remarks as Lester Miller, secured the old Brookdale Elementary School and mobilized volunteers to repurpose the building.

"He got commissioners and firefighters and community volunteers to show up here and start transforming this location into the first semblance of what would would be called the Brookdale Warming Center," the speaker said. The facility later became known as the Brookdale Resource Center, which the speaker credited with helping marginalized, unhoused residents over the following five years.

As an example of the center’s immediate impact, the mayor recalled a photograph of himself holding a small child who fell asleep in his arms during the shelter’s first days. "Just to realize that that child felt safe for one day in their life at that time," he said.

Speakers at the meeting said that, since Brookdale opened, the county had not had further reports of people being severely injured or dying from exposure. They also emphasized continuing needs: people remain unsheltered and some residents cannot afford to heat their homes.

The remarks closed with the mayor thanking volunteers and community members for their role in creating the shelter and supporting vulnerable residents. No formal votes or policy changes were recorded in the transcript; the account focused on the emergency response, community mobilization and ongoing service needs.