Tyler Perry donates $2.75 million to low-income senior citizens preventing displacement in Atlanta
Renowned actor, filmmaker, studio owner and philanthropist Tyler Perry has made an substantial donation of $2.75 million to help prevent senior citizen homeowners in Atlanta from being displaced.
Perry's donation will provide assistance to the city's low-income senior residents so that they are able to combat rising property taxes, according to a report from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Wednesday.
Rising property taxes have already caused the displacement of other legacy residents, leaving those on a fixed income on the brink of losing their homes.
Out of that $2.75 million donation, Perry has already given $750,000 that will specifically go toward paying off all back property taxes for 300 low-income seniors in Atlanta. It will cover not only city taxes, but back county and school taxes as well.
In a statement, the Atlanta mayor's office said the funds will also freeze property taxes for 100 low-income seniors as it will help pay "the difference between present day property taxes and property tax increases" through a pilot program.
Perry has also pledged to donate $500,000 each year for the next four years to ensure the senior residents are not faced with further increases.
The funds will be administered by Invest Atlanta Partnership -- a "registered local government authority [that] can receive charitable donations" -- which works to strengthen the city's economy and global authority, according to its website.
Perry first reached out to Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens weeks ago to discuss how he could provide aid for senior residents on fixed incomes who could potentially lose their homes if unable to pay their taxes, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
"Atlanta's growth and prosperity should not come at the expense of our legacy residents -- many of whom have been priced out of their homes in previous years," Dickens said in a press statement on Wednesday.
"Tyler Perry has been engaged in our ongoing conversations around legacy resident retention, and he told me he wanted to do something to support these efforts. Thanks to his generosity, more Atlantans will be able to remain in the communities they built."
In an Instagram post on Wednesday, Perry shared a screenshot of the Atlanta Journal Constitution's report and thanked Dickens and Invest Atlanta for their efforts on the issue.
"So… I knew that the success of my studio would affect all the property values around it. But make no mistake the seniors on fixed incomes around the studio will not lose their homes because of past due or rising taxes… no sir!!" he wrote in the caption. "We ain’t doing that to our legacy."
"Thank you Mayor Dickens and Invest Atlanta for caring about our folks," he added. "God bless."
