Hope Atlanta Field Report 5th Edition: November 2024
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When you think about homelessness, a family with children may not be the first image that comes to mind. Yet, almost half (45%) of Hope Atlanta’s clients in FY24 had kids under 18. Family homelessness is a heartbreaking crisis in our communities, though it’s not always visible; countless families are living in unstable or unsuitable housing like motels, couch surfing, or even sleeping in their cars. Many more are a missed paycheck or unexpected expense away from the streets.
Economic factors like the lack of affordable housing, rising living costs, and childcare expenses are leaving families severely cost-burdened. The end of pandemic-era relief has dealt a double blow to struggling households. What’s more, unhoused families seeking temporary shelter space face unique difficulties, like keeping their families together when shelters only accept one gender.
No child should ever have to worry about where they’ll lay their head at night, and no parent should have to make impossible choices like whether to pay rent or feed their family. Agree? Check out our latest field report, dedicated to raising awareness about family homelessness in Atlanta and, more importantly, the roles we can all play in creating a more hopeful future. After all, addressing homelessness takes a village — just like raising a child.
Thank you for reading. 🧡
TL;DR
- While this year’s Atlanta Point in Time (PIT) Count found 115 families experiencing homelessness, the actual number is impossible to quantify because of the many “hidden homeless” in precarious housing situations like motels, couch surfing, and sleeping in cars.
- Economic factors are working against lower-income families in our communities. Rent continues to climb, affordable housing inventory remains low, and 29% of children live in high-cost-burdened households.
- 2.3% of Georgia students report homelessness, and it can have devastating short and long-term impacts on kids. Students experiencing homelessness are twice as likely to be expelled, have significantly lower attendance rates, and face unthinkable stress.
- Hope Atlanta has a team dedicated to assisting families experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Beverly Heyward, Director of Family Services, shared an inside perspective on the causes of family homelessness, their unique obstacles to secure services, and how Hope Atlanta intervenes.
- Thanks to a unique partnership with Locum Tenens, Hope Atlanta secured a move-in-ready condo for our client, Ms. Carter, and her four children. After being homeless and housing insecure for over two years, they’re off to a hopeful new start. You can watch their heartwarming move-in video here.
