Atlanta Continuum of Care reports small rise in point‑in‑time count, details 'Downtown Rising' rehousing push

Partners for Home, the lead administrative agency for the Atlanta Continuum of Care, presented the quarterly homelessness update to the Community Development and Human Services Committee and outlined a multi‑pronged effort to reduce unsheltered homelessness.

The agency reported a 1% increase in the January 27, 2025 point‑in‑time (PIT) count compared with the prior count but said other indicators show stabilization and a 9% decrease in the number of people experiencing chronic homelessness. The agency also reported that more than 15,000 households have been rehoused through continuum efforts since the program began, and that over 96% of people placed into program housing remain housed.

Partners for Home CEO Catherine Vasquel told the committee the city currently has nearly 400 units completed specifically for people experiencing homelessness, several hundred additional units under development due to deliver by the first quarter of 2026, and an immediate pipeline of permanent supportive and rapid rehousing units. She described a community campaign, Atlanta Rising, designed to raise sizable private and public investment to scale prevention, case management and housing placements; staff described the campaign size as approximately $212 million to fund gaps in prevention and to increase rehousing capacity.

Vasquel also briefed the committee on the recent closure of the large Pryor Street encampment. Outreach partners had provided advance notice and intensive engagement; staff recorded 74 referrals to permanent housing, 42 people who moved into housing, and 27 placed in shelter. Several people declined offers; staff said outreach continues for those individuals.

The Continuum outlined a new, targeted downtown pilot called Downtown Rising, designed to concentrate outreach, add dedicated outreach teams, and ensure sufficient housing resources before closing encampment areas. Partners named Gateway, Hope Atlanta, Mercy Care, Urban Alchemy, MEND Culture and Georgia Harm Reduction Coalition as outreach partners. The stated goal is to rehouse 400 individuals sleeping downtown by year end and to end unsheltered homelessness in the downtown target area by this time next year.

The Continuum also described Project Heal, a partnership with the city's five major hospital systems—Grady, Piedmont, Wellstar, Northside and Emory—intended to align discharge planning, reduce hospital length of stay and invest health system resources in housing‑stabilization services.

Vasquel described a prevention pilot, in partnership with national researchers, to begin January (planning grant received) testing interventions that have shown statistically significant reductions in inflow to homelessness in other jurisdictions.

Committee members asked about outcomes and operational planning. Staff said they track declines (people who decline shelter or housing); while national consultants cited declination rates under 10% in other cities, staff said decline rates vary by encampment and offering. Members also asked about workforce and employment supports for rehoused individuals; Partners for Home said they work with Georgia Works, First Step Staffing, Center for Employment Opportunities, Urban League and shelter‑based employment programs and will continue to deepen those connections.

What comes next: Partners for Home will continue to report on rehousing pipeline deliveries, prevention pilot results and Downtown Rising outcomes. Committee members commended the pipeline additions and asked for continued coordination between housing, shelter and health partners.