ATLANTA — 11Alive was the first to tell you about a $50 million partnership between the City of Atlanta and the private sector to find solutions to curb homelessness.
Almost half of the money will be committed to building permanent affordable supported housing, while the rest will include rapid rehousing for homeless families; improving and adding shelters; and expanding outreach programs and counseling services.
Under the umbrella of HomeFirst, topping the priority list is permanent supported housing. The first 12 units are now in the final stages of construction in South Atlanta and people will move in starting in December.
“Our goal is to commit $25 million, half the money toward supporting permanent supportive housing," Executive Director Protip Biswas with the Atlanta Regional Commission on Homelessness said. "That is the critical factor for people to end homelessness, and we intend to have 550 or more units.”
HomeFirst is also leveraging the $50 million to bring in added funds.
“Our product now also is helping to fuel the affordable housing pipeline to the tune of 800 new units in our community that are being developed over time,” said Cathryn Marchman, executive director of Partners for Home.
Of the $25 million in City of Atlanta public funds, $4 million is being spent on renovating and operating the 100-bed Evolution Center, a shelter run by Gateway Center.
Also, $7.6 million, so far, has been committed to permanent supported housing, while $1.5 million is earmarked for independent living.
Of the $25 million committed by the private sector, $600,000 is funding outreach programs for around-the-clock assistance, while $1.7 million is going to administer all the approved programs for 3 years.
In addition, $3 million is funding the Donna Center, a shelter for women; $3.25 million is going for housing support programs while another $1 million is funding transitional programs for the former tenants of the Peachtree and Pine shelter.
And shelters like Evolution and Donna are giving hope to homeless men and women who have spent time on the streets. Almetrius Brown is one of them.
“Between my mother’s house and the street; my friend’s house and the street, basically about 6 to 7 months on the street," he said.
Brown is now working on an entertainment project that he hopes will keep him off the streets.
“I’m going to do it, guess a success and I want to be the next Tyler Perry, I hope,” Brown said.
Building a meaningful life is a part of the master plan of HomeFirst and the $50 million investment in bringing the homeless in from the streets.
To learn more about the HomeFirst initiative, visit PartnersforHome.org.
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