ATLANTA -- Mayor Shirley Franklin today formally accepted the 120-page “Blueprint to End Homelessness in Atlanta” from the Commission on Homelessness, and pledged to begin implementation immediately of a Seven Point Plan she termed the first step in a long-term commitment to alleviate homelessness.

            “We are a city that cares,” said Mayor Franklin.  “The Commission has demonstrated our collective compassion with a thorough and thoughtful effort.  I thank the Commission and United Way for its exemplary work.  For our part, the City is ready to get to work on implementing the plan.” 

            On November 1, 2002, Mayor Franklin asked United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta to lead a broad effort to analyze the issue of homelessness in Atlanta and to make specific recommendations to the City on how to address the issue.  In early December, the United Way convened a diverse Commission representing the entire metro region to make a detailed analysis.   Today Mayor Franklin said, “This is the roadmap I was looking for.” 

            The Mayor was joined today by Mark O’Connell, president of United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta, and members of the Commission on Homelessness, including Chairperson Horace Sibley, and Myrtle Davis, one of the commission co-chairs. 

            Said Mayor Franklin, “Homelessness is an enormously complicated regional issue.  There is no simple, one-step solution.  There is a wide range of reasons why people become homeless, and therefore there must be a wide range of strategies to address the issue.  The Commission’s plan certainly covers every aspect of the challenges we face as a region.”

            Horace Sibley, retired King & Spalding partner and chair of the Commission, noted, “we have developed a plan that we hope will guide Atlanta and the region for the next decade.  We recognize, however, that the City, the region and the civic community cannot undertake all of our recommendations at once.  The Mayor has highlighted a set of programs that can be put in place within the next year – a Seven Point Plan.  The Seven Point Plan can make a tangible difference to the homeless population very quickly.  Ultimately, this will make downtown a better place for everyone.”

            The Commission’s full report contains more than 29 program recommendations and covers 120 pages.  It is available on the United Way’s website at www.unitedwayatlanta.org.  The specific Seven Point Plan, designed to jump start the long-term effort, includes the following programs:

1.      Create a 24/7 Services Center to provide the homeless with access to showers, toilets, storage, telephones and emergency beds, and for the appropriate staffing to administer specialized services.

2.      Expand a reunification program to assist those homeless persons who wish to be reunited with verified family or support systems.  

3.      Establish Hope House, to provide transitional housing program for 70 homeless men who are participating in a program leading to self-sufficiency. 

4.      Expand Foreclosure/Eviction Prevention to increase availability of funds for mortgage and rent assistance.

5.      Establish Shelter-A-Family Faith Community Initiative to select families from shelters and match them with local congregations or civic organizations for six months to a year.  The congregation supports the family until the family reaches self-sufficiency.

6.      Expand Community Court to provide an alternative to jail and serve as a gateway for homeless and addicted or mentally ill persons to receive the treatment services available to them.

7.      Create Permanent Supportive Housing with on-site services (and supervision in addition to property management) for mentally ill, substance addicted, or dually diagnosed homeless adult individuals.

            The Mayor and the Commission also announced today that sufficient funding has already been obtained to initiate two of the projects contained in the Seven Point Plan, and the Commission will aggressively pursue funding immediately for the other projects. 

            “We are pleased to announce that implementation of the 24/7 Services Center, the Shelter-a-Family and Hope House will begin immediately,” said the Mayor.  “The Commission has been able to secure $90,000 to fund the sheltering families program fully, which will be administered by Families First.   The Commission has also helped secure the final funding needed to break ground on Hope House, and we expect construction begin early this summer.”

            “Most importantly, we are thrilled to say that the essential 24/7 Center – something that has been talked about in Atlanta for years – is ready to move forward.  The City is prepared to commit the use of one of its facilities, the former pre-trial detention building, to be converted into the Center.  Glencastle Construction, a non-profit consortium of Atlanta’s best builders, has committed to renovating the facility for cost.  And the Commission has agreed to immediately seek financial commitments to complete the work.

            Work to obtain the necessary funding to initiate the remaining projects of the Seven Point Plan will also begin immediately.

            “Although much progress has been made,” said the Mayor, “much work also still needs to be done.  For that reason, I have asked United Way and the commission to continue in its role as advisor, coordinator, implementer and fundraiser for the next year.  I am thrilled to say that United Way and the commission have agreed to continue serving in this important role.

            “If we ever needed proof that concerned citizens can come together to find solutions to important issues effectively, inclusively and quickly, here it is,” said Mark O’Connell. 

Homelessness, like many community issues, knows no bounds of geography.  “This effort cannot, however, stop at the City’s doorstep,” said Sibley  “The issue of homelessness is a regional problem and we invite other municipalities in the Atlanta region to work with Mayor Franklin, United Way and the commission as we embark on this journey to alleviate the problems associated with homelessness.”

            The Mayor concurred in the Commission’s recommendation for a regional approach to homelessness.  “Atlanta has proved today, as we have for the last 20 years, that we are a city that cares,” said Mayor Franklin.  “Regionally, the majority of all emergency social services for the homeless are provided within the city limits.  We have long recognized traffic, affordable housing, water supply and air quality as regional concerns; it is time to include homelessness in that list.”