Atlanta Has 'Effectively Ended' Veteran Homelessness: Mayor Reed

ATLANTA, GA -- Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed on Monday said the city has "effectively ended" homelessness among veterans, a development he said was recently confirmed by the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), a city news release said.

Reed's announcement comes three years after he joined other city leaders around the state in accepting former President Barack Obama's challenge to stamp out veteran homelessness by 2015. Since that time, Partners for HOME and the providers of the Atlanta Continuum of Care (CoC) in partnership with HUD, the VA and the Atlanta Housing Authority, have "worked tirelessly" to create a coordinated system to identify, assess, connect and permanently house veterans experiencing homelessness. To date, the CoC has placed 1,859 veterans experiencing homelessness into permanent housing, the city notes.

“Today’s announcement means that with the systems and resources we have in place, we can assist any homeless veteran in our city who becomes known to us find a home,” Reed said. “I want to express my sincere thanks to all of our partners and the providers who made this possible. It means so much to me to know that we have been able to help the women and men who risked it all in service to their country.”

Atlanta is one of only two municipalities in Georgia that has met the federal benchmarks and criteria for creating an effective end to homelessness for veterans. Meeting the criteria for each benchmark, set by USICH, means Atlanta has created a system and capacity to quickly identify and house veterans experiencing homelessness.

"We applaud Mayor Reed and all the partners in Atlanta who collaborated to plan and execute the critical strategies we know can end homelessness in this country,” said Matthew Doherty, executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. “Communities like Atlanta are proving that homelessness is solvable, not just for veterans, but for everyone.”

Atlanta's efforts to reaching this goal, the city added, stem from an effort between service providers, housing authorities, local agency partners and the "robust and tireless work of the philanthropic community."

While the city notes the federal designation recognizes that the system and resources that have been put into place are working, the CoC and partners "understand that the effort must continue until all veterans are housed, and until homelessness in Atlanta is brief, rare and non-recurring."

"Ending veteran homelessness in the city of Atlanta is now a reality thanks to the combined efforts of Mayor Reed, the Atlanta Homeless Continuum of Care, key partners, HUD and the Veteran’s Administration," said HUD Southeast Regional Administrator Denise Cleveland-Leggett. "Our veterans deserve a place that they can finally call home where they have an opportunity to rebuild their lives after sacrificing so much on our behalf."

• Read the letter from USICH by clicking here.
  

The federal designation also recognizes that the city has maintained a robust continuum of outreach, services, emergency and permanent housing placements to continue to identify veterans who may become homeless and immediately connect them to care and resources.

“This work could not have been done and cannot be sustained without the substantial and continued investment from the VA and HUD,” said Cathryn Marchman, executive director, Partners for HOME. “This work is a road map for Atlanta to continue its cross-collaboration with our partner providers and federal, state and local entities, and to build upon this success to create an effective end to homelessness for everyone in our community.”

The Atlanta City Council earlier this year voted this year to issue a $26 million Homeless Opportunity Bond to be matched by $25 million donation from United Way of Greater Atlanta. This $50 million initiative was designed to make homelessness "rare, brief and non-recurring" in the city. The Council also authorized the adoption of ClearPath – Partners for HOME’s five-year strategic plan focused on permanent housing placements for all individuals experiencing homelessness.

The CoC conducted its annual point-in-time count in January 2017. Unlike other cities around the country experiencing spikes in homelessness, Atlanta continues to experience declines in overall homelessness -- down 21 percent since 2015.

Since 2013, the CoC has seen a 61 percent decrease in the total number of chronically homeless individuals, a 52 percent decrease in unsheltered homeless individuals and a 62 percent decrease in the number of homeless veterans in Atlanta, according to the Regional Commission on Homelessness.

Photo: Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed during his press conference held Monday announcing the city has "effectively ended" veteran homelessness. Credit: city of Atlanta's Facebook page.