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The federal government just dished out $2.4 million to help Atlanta curb homelessness.
That check, a grant from the U.S. Health Department, will bolster the city’s Homelessness Continuum of Care programs, which help and advocate for people without a roof above their heads.
“My Administration is committed to reducing and eliminating chronic homelessness in our city,” said Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed in a press release.
Atlanta Press Information Officer Christina Cruz-Benton told The Signal that this three-year grant is supposed to help 160 homeless people find permanent housing every year. The project also aims to make sure 70 percent of those people housed stay housed after the first year.
With this plan Atlanta is targeting the chronically homeless population — people with disabilities who have frequently gone without shelter. And this money, granted by the Health Department’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), will seek out those struggling with addiction and mental disorders to get them cleaned up and on their feet.
Cruz-Benton said the people engaged during the program’s outreach will be given whatever resources they say they need to remain sheltered.
That includes “social security disability income, employment, health insurance, mental health services, substance abuse treatment, assistance in obtaining identification and birth certificates – all the services an individual identifies he or she needs to remain in stable housing,” she said.
Atlanta officials participating in the grant program will also oversee the aftermath of the housing arrangements they make, according the Cruz-Benton.
“The city will track housing placements, stabilization in housing and the number of returns to homelessness,” she said.
