Anyone that has spent much time around downtown Atlanta recently has probably noticed the clusters of tents and sleeping bags here and there across parts of the city. A keen eye on the interstate will spot tents huddled under the overpasses. Homelessness is a many-tiered problem for people in an array of situations. Oftentimes there may be a mental health issue, or maybe an addiction issue, or perhaps the bills have just gotten on top of someone and they don’t feel they have a choice.
Atlanta is announcing $4.3 million for Partners for HOME, Inc. to address homelessness in the city.
“Caring for our unsheltered population is one of our top priorities,” said Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. “Through coordination with our continuum of care organization, Partners for Home, we continue to expand efforts to provide those in need with resources to help them find transition and permanent housing.”
The funding will help provide supportive services, including rapid rehousing and non-congregate housing for individuals or families experiencing homelessness. The Bottoms’ administration has already been working on the issue since her term began, including $50 million to provide 550 homes for the city’s homeless through a partnership with United Way of Greater Atlanta in 2019 and $3 million last year in emergency funding through city funding and philanthropic contributions.
Partners for Home also provided housing assistance and comprehensive services during the pandemic, with nearly 500 people placed into permanent housing. These total up to, theoretically, more than 1,000 people delivered into housing since Bottoms’ term began.
A report last year from the Atlanta Continuum of Care – a group of more than 100 organizations that work to address homelessness – found that approximately 3,200 people were homeless within the City of Atlanta. That number is down 25 percent since 2015, though there has been a 5 percent increase since 2018. Several hundred volunteers gather every January to complete the homeless survey. The survey found a mental health or addiction issue in two-thirds of the cases of homelessness.
The count is required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and while the numbers may be not absolute, they can help to show trends over time. Males made up 72 percent of the counted homeless individuals and 85 percent of homeless were over the age of 24, with nine percent under the age of 18. The vast majority, 88 percent, of them were African-American, only nine percent white. Ten percent were veterans.
To see the full report: https://partnersforhome.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/2020-PIT-Full-Report_FINAL-1.pdf
