Cobb officials hear data-driven push to shift funds from shelter to housing programs

Cobb County officials received a multi-agency briefing May 27 on the county’s homeless population, system capacity and recommended investments to move more people from emergency shelter into permanent housing.

The County Manager introduced the Cobb Homeless Alliance and said the presentation would include nonprofit and law‑enforcement perspectives. Melanie Keegan, speaking for the Cobb Homeless Alliance, summarized county and homelessness data and how the Continuum of Care collects and reports those figures to HUD.

Keegan said countywide housing costs are rising faster than incomes and described two distinct groups in the homeless population: people actively seeking services and a separate subset of single adults who are unsheltered and not seeking help. “There are 2 sort of differences in our homeless populations,” she said.

Keegan said county statistics the alliance submitted to HUD show that (as reported to the board): the 2023 median household income for Cobb County was “almost a hundred thousand dollars,” the county’s vacancy rate is about 5.6% (below state and national averages), median gross rent is nearly $1,800, and roughly half of county renters spend 30% or more of income on housing; 25% are “severely cost burdened.” Keegan reported that about 87,000 Cobb households qualify for federal housing assistance but only about 7,000 households are receiving subsidized units reported in the inventory she presented.

Keegan described the Continuum’s 2024…