Mayor Kasim Reed Announces Milestone in 100,000 Homes Campaign 2013 100-Day Challenge

City of Atlanta demonstrates unprecedented coordination in outreach and placement of chronically homeless individuals and families in permanent supportive housing

ATLANTA, GA  Today Mayor Kasim Reed announced a milestone in the city’s efforts to end chronic homelessness. As part of the national 100,000 Homes Campaign 100-Day Challenge, Atlanta assisted 320 chronically homeless people and their family members with moving into permanent housing.

“Atlanta’s performance during the 2013 100-day challenge represented an unprecedented level of coordination among local government and nonprofit agencies around outreach and placement of chronically homeless individuals,” said Mayor Reed. “This partnership is a significant milestone in our efforts to ensure that our community is doing its part to support our most vulnerable residents despite limited resources.”

Of the 320 chronically homeless individuals and families housed, 222 were connected to permanent housing with long-term services, including 66 members of military veteran households.

During the 100-day challenge, participating agencies launched a streamlined model for moving chronically homeless individuals into permanent housing. Many of those housed were identified through a volunteer-driven homeless registry launched in January to help community service providers identify individuals with the highest health vulnerability, matching them with housing and service resources appropriate to their individual needs.

Using the registry, outreach workers were able to find homeless individuals and help them navigate the process of moving into permanent housing, including organizing “rolling housing fairs” to assist chronically homeless individuals in selecting an apartment. Agency leaders worked together to align the resources necessary to ensure that individuals placed in permanent housing would also be connected to wraparound support services.

Partners in this effort included the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, the Atlanta Department of Veterans Affairs, the Office of Housing and Urban Development, Atlanta Housing Authority, DeKalb Housing Authority, Decatur Housing Authority, Grady Act and PATH teams, Pathways Community Network, United Way of Greater Atlanta, HOPE Atlanta, Community Friendship, CaringWorks, St. Joseph’s Mercy Care, Project Community Connections, HOPE Atlanta, Quest 35, Atlanta Outreach, Another Chance, and Atlanta Furniture Bank.

“The extraordinary success of the 100-day challenge exemplifies Atlanta’s outstanding community spirit and leadership,” said Mike Proctor, Atlanta Housing Authority’s Chief Policy Officer. “As part of its standing commitment to be a facilitator of affordable and quality supportive housing, Atlanta Housing Authority expanded its supportive housing project based rental assistance program from 700 to 1000 units. And, growing out of the 100-day challenge campaign, AHA will implement two pilot programs, a tenant-based supportive housing pilot and a short-term rental assistance pilot to address episodic homelessness.”

“The Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities is proud to partner with Mayor Reed and the City of Atlanta in the Unsheltered No More Initiative,” said Commissioner Frank W. Berry. “Access to permanent housing and needed supports and services are critical elements of recovery for individuals who have experienced chronic homelessness and behavioral health challenges. Through this initiative and the collaboration it has fostered, Atlanta has created a truly innovative model for a more efficient and effective system that blends resources and funding from multiple agencies to achieve life-changing outcomes for individuals.”

Permanent supportive housing is a nationally proven, cost-effective intervention for chronic homelessness. Studies across the country have shown that the costs of providing permanent housing are significantly lower than the public costs associated with chronically homeless people cycling through emergency shelters, emergency rooms and the criminal justice system.

About Unsheltered No More

In 2012, Atlanta participated in its first 100-Day Challenge and moved 131 chronically homeless veterans into permanent supportive housing. Mayor Reed’s staff coordinated community participation in both 100-Day Challenges as part of the Unsheltered No More initiative, a community partnership to develop a coordinated strategy to dramatically reduce street homelessness by December 2013. To date, over 700 people have been connected to housing through the initiative. Visit www.unshelterednomore.com for more information.

Unsheltered No More is one of several initiatives supported by the Mayor’s Innovation Delivery Team, which is funded by a $3.3 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies. Situated in the Mayor’s Office, the Team brings rigorous focus and best-in-class practice to identifying powerful solutions, developing implementation plans, and then managing for results. Atlanta is one of five cities to receive an Innovation Delivery Team grant. Part of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Mayors Project, Innovation Delivery Team grants were also awarded to Chicago, Louisville, Memphis, and New Orleans.

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For more information about the City of Atlanta, please visit http://www.atlantaga.gov or watch City Channel 26. Follow the City of Atlanta on Facebook and Twitter @CityofAtlanta. Follow Mayor Reed on Facebook and Twitter @Kasim Reed

Contact:
Sonji Jacobs, Director
404-330-6558, office
404-276-6866, cell

Anne Torres, Deputy Director
404-330-6423, office
404-904-2618, cell