Cobb County Fails South Cobb Again: Warming Center Funding Leaves Residents Out in the Cold

As winter approaches, South Cobb residents face a familiar and preventable problem: county leadership that consistently fails to fund warming centers in their neighborhoods. Critics say that yet another season without resources to support local access to warming centers highlights a tone-deaf approach by the Cobb County Board of Commissioners.

On Tuesday, the Board voted 3-2 to allocate $108,000 to MUST Ministries for its warming shelter at Hope House in Marietta, operating from November through March. Commissioners Critics say the decision leaves South Cobb residents vulnerable.

Chair Lisa Cupid and Commissioner Monique Sheffield — both representing and living in South Cobb — voted yes, but failed to advocate for warming center funding within their own communities. Instead, residents are left to depend on buses to travel long distances (estimated two hours) to a warming center in the north. Commissioner Eric Allen voted in favor while Commissioners Keli Gambrill and JoAnn Birrell opposed the funding..

MUST Ministries, a Marietta-based nonprofit operating for 54 years, provides emergency shelter, temporary housing, and wraparound services including food, clothing, and workforce development. The warming shelter opens when overnight temperatures are forecasted to drop below 35 degrees. The county’s allocation will cover hotels for families ($40,000), additional security ($30,000), staffing ($16,000), food ($9,500), cleaning supplies and linens ($8,500), and transportation ($4,000).

Even with these funds, the plan highlights a glaring inequity: South Cobb residents must rely on buses to reach the shelter — a system that failed last winter when service was canceled during a storm. Many residents without reliable transportation could not access the shelter, underscoring the shortcomings of the county’s current approach.

“Cobb is a huge county, and it is inhumane to ask people to get on a bus to stay warm when safe, accessible options could be established within their own communities,” said one local advocate.

This is not an isolated oversight. For years, South Cobb neighborhoods have been left behind while central areas of the county receive funding and attention. The repeated lack of local resources puts elderly, disabled, and low-income residents at serious risk during extreme weather. Simply put, it is unacceptable to expect people to travel across a sprawling county just to stay safe and warm. The County also failed to provide funding for a cooling center in South Cobb during the hottest parts of the summer.

Critics argue that funding a single nonprofit in the north cannot meet the urgent safety needs of residents, particularly in a county as large and geographically diverse as Cobb. Government responsibility should mean ensuring equitable access to lifesaving services — not leaving entire communities out in the cold, literally.

Community leaders are urging Cobb County to adopt a more equitable approach, ensuring that funding and resources reflect the county’s geographic diversity and meet the needs of residents where they live, rather than requiring long trips to access essential services. South Cobb residents deserve leadership that listens, prioritizes, and invests in their safety. Anything less is unacceptable.