Homeless in 2008
medication assistance.
o Hope House, Inc. in Augusta held a Groundbreaking Ceremony in January 2008
for its Permanent Supportive Housing project called “The Highlands West.”
Hope House, Inc. provides long-term housing needs and a “Best Practice”
therapeutic recovery program for women and women with children who are
suffering from the disease of chemical addiction and a co-occurring mental
health illness. The property consists of 5.22 acres of land and one building.
Rehabilitation of the existing building will be used as office space for Hope
House staff and clinical space to provide supportive services to its clients.
The development also includes the new construction of 42 new permanent
housing units for its clients. Construction is expected to be completed in a few months.
Cobb County non-profit organizations are working w o ith local health care
providers to develop alternative placement options for homeless individuals.
Alternatives are needed that provide more suitable care settings and reduce
overall costs to the health care system. Their research in Georgia and other
states indicates that buy-in by the health care system is key to developing
a sustainable program. They hope to initiate new options this year that will
reduce unnecessary hospitalization for homeless individuals, while more
efficiently using community resources.
o The Macon Housing Authority’s Shelter Plus Care program successfully
combined housing assistance with supportive services for homeless persons
during the late 1990s. MHA provided the housing assistance and the River
Edge Behavioral Health Center provided the supportive services for assisted
families. However, both agencies wanted to improve the basic program model.
To better serve homeless persons with a mental health and/or a substance
abuse diagnosis, MHA, River Edge and In-Fill Housing, Inc. developed Grove
Park Village (see sidebar this page). This 40-unit multi-family development,
completed in 2005, provides affordable residential housing where residents
pay no more than 30 percent of their adjusted monthly incomes for rent. River
Edge staffs a fulltime case manager at Grove Park Village. The .2 million
development cost for Grove Park Village was provided by a DCA Permanent
Supportive Housing Program loan using resources from the federal HOME
program and the State Housing Trust Fund for the Homeless. When spread out
over the expected life of the development, the per unit cost is approximately
,700/year, compared to the ,600 annual cost of hospitalizing patients for
mental health or substance abuse.
o After the 2000 Census, the City of Dalton became a CDBG Entitlement
community and was required by HUD to complete a Consolidated Plan. The
Needs Assessment for that Plan highlighted dismal housing conditions in
the community. In response, the City asked the Dalton-Whitfield Community
Development Corporation to help both city and county governments deal
with this issue. A Homeless Summit was convened in 2005 as the first activity
to address that request. The Committee for Housing Stability was formed as a
result of that Homeless Summit. The Committee is comprised of approximately
40 agencies which all share the need to find safe and decent housing for their
clients. The agencies have entered into a Memorandum of Agreement in order
to be able to work cooperatively to locate all resources available to their client
households. Working together, the Committee for Housing Stability is helping
address homelessness and housing stability in Dalton and Whitfield County.
Local 10-Year Plans to End
Chronic Homelessness
• City of Albany
• Metropolitan Atlanta (Regional
Commission on Homelessness
members: City of Atlanta and Cobb,
Clayton, Douglas, DeKalb, Fulton, and
Rockdale Counties)
• Athens-Clarke County
• Augusta-Richmond County
• City of Macon and Bibb County
• City of Savannah
United States Interagency Council on
Homelessness
Jennette and Macon’s River Edge
Jennette was first introduced to the
River Edge Behavioral Health Center
in January, 2003. She entered the
facility for drug addiction. Upon
completing their 14-day long-term
treatment program, Jennette was
placed into an apartment in Macon
through River Edge’s Shelter Plus
Care program where she lived for two
years. Three months after moving
to Macon and attending the DUAL
program, (which treats clients with
more than one addiction) she enrolled
in Central Georgia