City of Atlanta invests $4 million into new housing plan for homeless residents
An upcoming multi-phase rapid housing initiative, signed off by Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, calls for refurbishing shipping containers into places to live for homeless citizens throughout the metro area. (Emil Moffatt/WABE)
Mayor Andre Dickens has signed an executive order to move forward with a new $4 million plan to help fight homelessness in Atlanta.
The multi-phase rapid housing initiative calls for refurbishing shipping containers into places to live for the unhoused. The $4 million funding comes from the city’s chief financial officer, which then will be distributed to the nonprofit organization, Partners For Home (PFH).
Dickens says the plan is the innovative push the metro Atlanta area needs amid its housing crisis.
“Each and every Atlantan deserves a place to call home, and our Administration understands the sense of urgency to stabilize individuals and families experiencing homelessness in our city,” Dickens said in a recent press release. “Any one of us are just one bad day away from finding ourselves needing a hand-up to get back on our feet.”
The plan’s initial phase will be modifying donated shipping containers from the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, or GEMA. These units will be placed on city-owned properties along with wraparound services like mental health treatment and employment opportunities, according to city documents.
City officials are encouraging the usage of shipping containers because they are cost-effective and can be manufactured quicker to meet the housing demand compared to other methods.
PFH’s chief advancement officer Summer Duperon says supporting these types of projects is part of a bigger housing solution.
“We will continue to replicate and scale investments in housing with an emphasis on neighbors experiencing unsheltered homelessness,” Duperon said. “We are also working to identify dedicated revenue so that homeless response remain[s] a consistent service offered in Atlanta.”
Property redevelopments will be the second phase of the Rapid Housing Plan. The goal is ultimately to create permanent, mixed-income housing within Downtown Atlanta.
The first remodeled container units will soon be located at 184 Forsyth St. near the Garnett MARTA station.
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