ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – On Tuesday, the City of Atlanta opened its newest housing complex for those chronically homeless.

The 23-unit apartment building along Bonaventure Avenue NE in the Virginia-Highland neighborhood of Atlanta is geared toward those sleeping on the street or under bridges to find immediate shelter.

“This is quick-delivery rapid housing of quality, and we’re trying to (open for tenants) by Christmas because it’s so cold outside,” said Mayor Andre Dickens, after a ribbon-cutting ceremony with city housing leaders.

The complex is the latest in a push by the Dickens Administration to secure 500 units of housing by the end of 2025 for those experiencing homelessness.

Dickens also has a goal of building or preserving 20,000 units of affordable housing by 2030.

On Tuesday, he confirmed the city is over the halfway mark in this goal.

“I’m a goal-oriented person, and I use partnerships well. We’re going to get to our 20,000 units,” Dickens said on Tuesday.

He charged other regional leaders to help the city in this effort.

“We actually end up housing people that are not always from the city. So we want to make sure that regionally, across north Georgia, that you all do as we are doing,” said Dickens.

On Tuesday, DeKalb County announced a $13 million investment to reduce homelessness and prevent evictions.

“People are desperate, inflation is making it extremely difficulty for working people to keep food on the table or to pay their rent,” said DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond.

The $13 million will be divided between nine different nonprofit organizations serving DeKalb County.

The participating nonprofit agencies and their services are listed below:

Assistance for rent, utilities, housing instability, unsafe, unhealthy living conditions:

• New Life Community Ministries, $2.8 million
• Urban League of Greater Atlanta, $2.8 million
• Latin American Association, $2.3 million
• New American Pathways, $1 million
• Jewish Family Career Services of Atlanta, $1 million
• Africa’s Children Fund, $1 million
• Society of St. Vincent de Paul, $1 million

Housing stability services (legal services related to evictions):

• Atlanta Legal Aid Society, $600,000
• DeKalb Pro Bono, $200,000

To apply, residents can contact the DeKalb Integrated Community Care Initiative hotline at 404-371-NEED (6333) for program guidance.

“Thirteen million is a big number, but really, if you compare it to the challenge we face, it’s relatively small. But we’re just happy, actually blessed, to be able to stand in the gap not just on this very cold day, but on cold days that will be coming throughout this winter,” said Thurmond.

Atlanta housing leaders said they plan on opening three additional rapid housing complexes in the city by the end of 2024.

“When you see these ribbon cuttings of the 23, 35, 65 [units], they add up,” said Dickens.

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One of the Atlanta Hawks best players of the last 20 years (and maybe ever) has decided to retire. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, former Atlanta Hawks Paul Millsap has decided to retire after 16 years in the NBA.

After starting his career with the Utah Jazz, spending seven seasons in Salt Lake City, Millsap signed with the Hawks in the 2013 offseason and it was not long before the team had success. In every season with the Hawks, Millsap was an All-Star and helped lead the Hawks to one of the best seasons in franchise history. In 2014-2015, the Atlanta Hawks won 60 games and were the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, and he helped lead the Hawks to their first-ever appearance in the conference finals, where they were swept by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Not only was Millsap an All-Star in every season he was with the Hawks and he finished in the top five for defensive player of the year in 2015-2016. He got the Hawks to the playoffs in every season

In his four seasons with the Hawks, Millsap averaged 17.4 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 3.3 APG, as well as 2.4 blocks per game

Millsap left to sign with the Denver Nuggets in the summer of 2017 and the Hawks went into a rebuild that eventually landed them Trae Young after the 2017-2018 season. Millsap was one of the most consistent stars that the Hawks have ever had and while he might not have had the star power of someone like Joe Johnson or Young, he brought Atlanta consistent success that should not be taken for granted, not to mention the franchises first appearance in the conference finals. Millsap had a very good four years in Atlanta and was one of the most underrated stars of his time.

Additional Links:

Young Hawks Stars Dyson Daniels and Jalen Johnson Make ESPN’s NBA 25 Under 25 List

Trae Young Gives Honest Statement About Facing Dejounte Murray For The First Time Since He Was Traded

Atlanta Uses Strong Second Half To Defeat New Orleans 124-112 and Win Their Fourth Straight Game

ATLANTA – Voters across Georgia will be back at their polling places on Tuesday to decide a number of runoff races.

Many candidates for county and city offices around the state failed to get enough votes required to win the Nov. 5 general election outright.

In total, nearly 20 races are on Tuesday’s ballot across the Peach State. 

One of the races is to fill the vacancy left open by former Atlanta City Councilwoman Keisha Waites, who stepped down earlier this year.

After November’s election, the field was narrowed to two candidates; Nicole Jones, a former administrator for Atlanta Public Schools who now owns a small business, and Eshe Collins, a civil rights attorney serving on the Atlanta Board of Education.

SEE MORE: Candidates for Atlanta city council meet face-to-face ahead of runoff

“I’m running to put neighborhoods first,” Jones said at a forum in Buckhead last month.

“For me, [it’s] continuing to fight for a city that’s for us, for all of us,” Collins said.

In the last election, Jones received about 40% of the vote. Collins received around 25%.

Both candidates said they would take a different approach to the role than Waites did.

“I will be way more present, I think, [than someone who] never stepped down,” Jones said. “And then I want to ensure that the council is an independent body.”

“One thing that I’ve heard from the community a lot is [the need for] someone that is actually present and engaged,” Collins said.

Registered voters, including those who did not vote for this seat in the general election, are eligible to vote in the race.

Polling hours for the runoff are from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday in the City of Atlanta and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for the rest of the state. You can find your precinct on the Secretary of State’s My Voter Page.

To vote in-person, you will need to bring a valid ID such as a driver’s license or passport.