ATLANTA — U.S. Sens. Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff announced they’d secured more than $500,000 to help homeless veterans living in the Atlanta area, through a combination of rental assistance and services.
The funding comes from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, according to the announcement.
The news comes the day that Atlanta officials and volunteers would have been performing the yearly point in time count of the city, but weather conditions have pushed the date back. Atlanta city officials told Channel 2 Action News a new date has not yet been selected.
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“Veterans who have put their lives on the line for our nation’s freedoms should never have to worry about if they’ll have a safe place to sleep,” Warnock said. “As the son of a veteran and one of twelve kids growing up in public housing, I understand the dignity and security housing provides, which is why I will continue working with Senator Ossoff and my colleagues across the aisle to secure further investments that combat the housing crisis across Georgia.”
Warnock and Ossoff said they had gotten $572,901 for homeless veterans in the metro Atlanta area, and the funds would be split between the Housing Authority of Atlanta and the Housing Authority of East Point to provide rental assistance and case management and clinical services provided by the VA.
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The funding from the VA comes as homelessness in the United States continues to increase as the ability to afford a place to live, either renting or owning it outright, remains out of reach.
“Our national honor requires that we lift up and support all who have sacrificed in America’s defense. That’s why Senator Warnock and I continue working to end veteran homelessness in Georgia and nationwide,” Ossoff said.
In December, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said homelessness had increased about 18%, following a 12% increase in 2023.
While Georgia saw a nearly 8% decrease in the number of homeless veterans, according to the VA, in 2024, that still meant more than 640 veterans were homeless that year.
The point in time count that happens each year is the federally-required check on how many homeless people are able to be accounted for on a single night. With the Atlanta count being pushed back to the weather conditions, the current levels of homeless Atlantans, and homeless veterans in the area, won’t be updated as soon as expected.
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