Homelessness

In March 2022 Mayor and Commission authorized $5 million in ARPA funds for homelessness initiatives. The advisory group for the Homelessness bucket is composed of members of the Athens Homeless Coalition. They were charged with creating a community‐wide five year strategic plan to address homelessness, to reduce and prevent homelessness in Athens Clarke County, and to strengthen the mental health and social service support systems for unhoused residents. In addition, the advisory group was tasked with providing specific guidance on how ACCGov can aid in transitioning unhoused residents to permanent housing including supportive housing.

In addition to the $5 million homelessness bucket two additional ARPA projects which aim to prevent and reduce homelessness were approved. This includes the First Step Homeless Encampment and the Eviction Prevention Program. 

More information about the funded projects is available below.


Relevant History

August 17, 2021M&C voted to direct staff to release a Request for Proposals (RFP) to select an agency to administer an eviction prevention program in coordination with the Magistrate Court, landlords, and tentants.M&C Minutes (pg 2)
August 30, 2021HCD released a RFP for a community partner to administer an Eviction Prevention Program (EPP) to “offer a mutually beneficial solution that not only prevents homelessness, but also addresses the significant economic impact COVID-19 has had on both landlords and tenants in Athens-Clarke County.”

October 19, 2021 M&C approved a Commission Defined Option to approve the proposal submitted by Athenian First Development Corporation (AFDC) as an agency partner to coordinate with the Magistrate Court, landlords, and tenants to prevent evictions and to provide rental assistance to households in need.
M&C Minutes (pg 2)
December 7, 2021 M&C approved a contract with AFDC for the EPP. The total value of this contract was $2,425,000. 
M&C Minutes (pg 10)
January 28, 2022ACCGov executed an agreement with AFDC for the EPP. 

March 1, 2022M&C approved a budget allocating ARPA State and Local Recovery Funds to various programs including a budget of $5,000,000 for Homelessness.M&C Minutes (pg 2)
September 6, 2022M&C approved Cloudburst Consulting Group, Inc. to be awarded a contract with HCD to create a Strategic Plan to Reduce and Prevent Homelessness.
M&C Agenda (pg 271)
M&C Minutes (pg 16)
October 24, 2022HCD notified AFDC that it was suspending the EPP for federal non-compliance.  

November 15, 2022 M&C authorized the use of $150,000 of existing Eviction Prevention Program funding to provide financial assistance to program participants who were approved at the time of the project suspension. 
M&C Agenda (pg 1)
M&C Minutes (pg 1)
December 13, 2022 M&C directed staff to produce and release an RFP structured around previous eviction prevention program that will utilize at least $800,000 of the remaining ARPA funds previously allocated to the program run by the Athens First Development Corporation.
M&C Minutes (pg 5)
November 16 - December 31, 2022HCD staff facilitated direct financial assistance to previously approved program participants. 

February 3, 2023  HCD released an RFP for a second eviction prevention program based on direction from M&C.

March 7, 2023M&C approved the proposed HOME-ARP Allocation Plan that designated $625,000 toward supportive services to help prevent and reduce homelessness. 
M&C Agenda (pg 440)
M&C Minutes (pg 10)
May 2, 2023M&C approved the 2023 Eviction Prevention Program contract award to Family Promise of Athens in the amount of $800,000 from the ARPA SLFRP Allocation to EPP, as well as an additional $100,000 from the same fund for use by the agency for additional direct financial assistance to program participants, as needed.
M&C Agenda (pg 356)
M&C Minutes (pg 8)
November 2022 - August 2023HCD staff collaborated with The Cloudburst Group to complete the Strategic Plan to Reduce & Prevent Homelessness in consultation with the ARPA Homelessness Advisory Committee.  
SPRPH page
October 3, 2023 M&C voted to accepted the Strategic Plan to Reduce and Prevent Homelessness
M&C Approve transition plan for Sanctioned Homeless Encampment, including allocating funding to ABHS Hotel Voucher Program.
M&C Agenda (pg 531, pg 738)
M&C Minutes (pg 14-16)
December 2023End of Sanctioned Encampment Contract, closure of camp.

January 2, 2024 M&C voted to release three separate Requests for Proposals (RFPs), each focused on a specific type of activity recommended in the Strategic Plan to Reduce and Prevent Homelessness (SPRPH). Additionally, M&C approved funding for the Athens Homeless Coalition, Salvation Army capacity expansion, and implementation of ACCGov's Emergency Warming Shelter plan.M&C Agenda (pg 133)
M&C Minutes (pg 3)
January 31, 2024ACCGov released the RFP for the ARPA Homelessness funding.
April 2, 2024M&C approved staff’s recommendation to amend the Eviction Prevention Program contract with Family Promise of Athens through the provision of an additional $102,349 in funding to help support additional households.
M&C Agenda (pg 353)
M&C Minutes (pg 12)
May 7, 2024M&C approved staff recommendation to award eight ARPA Homelessness projects.M&C Agenda (pg 570)
M&C Minutes (pg 25)