Atlanta City Council devotes $3 million toward ‘rapid housing’ for the homeless

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Monday, the Atlanta City Council voted yes to an extra $3 million dollars for the idea of ‘rapid housing.’

“Rapid housing is moving someone in a housing opportunity whether that be an extended stay or one of the trailers so we can get them off the street,” said Michael Julian Bond, Atlanta City Council Post 1 At Large.

It also can be called bridge housing. There, individuals could be connected to resources to help them get on their feet permanently.

“When we see an investment like that $3 million into bridge housing for people we know how critical that is,” said Terry Tucker, CEO of Frontline Response.

The city council gave it the green light but it’s still unknown how exactly the non-profit Partners for HOME plans to use the money. That group opened a shipping container community a couple months ago and they’ve hit the ground running.

“You do need a wraparound approach because people 9 times out of 10 did not become homeless or unhoused by accident,” said Bond.

Tucker said Frontline Response works closely with Partners for HOME. He believes bridge housing can be a key to finding permanent solutions.

“We’ve had people come into our warming center with no place to live but had a job offer to be an engineer. All they needed was a bus ticket to get to the job,” said Tucker.

Council member Bond said there is still more work to be done but rapid housing is helping people.

“You want to make sure that you are providing people with resources they need to become stable, and that they have shoulders they can lean on until they can stand on their own,” said Bond.

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