Welcome to the online home of the quarterly "Atlanta Regional Housing Forum." The Forum is a long-standing gathering of nonprofit, business, governmental, educational and grassroots organizations to discuss matters related to affordable housing and related topics of transportation, land-use and much more. The Forum is held quarterly and open to all. There is no fee to attend, but registration is requested. It is also requested that attendees bring canned food items to donate to the Atlanta Community Food Bank at each Forum.

PLEASE NOTE: Notices are sent to email subscribers at least one month in advance with 2-3 reminders prior to the event. To subscribe, please visit the link at the top of the page.

NEXT FORUM:

Homelessness in Metro Atlanta
December 7, 2011     
9:30 a.m. – 11:45 p.m.
Loudermilk Center for the Regional Community
40 Courtland Street NE, Atlanta GA 30303
 
Register Now!  

Agenda

9:00 a.m. Registration

9:30 a.m. Welcome – Bill Bolling, Context for Forum

9:45 a.m. Panel Discussion with representatives of the Regional Commission on Homelessness

10:30 a.m. Discussion on regional needs

11:45 a.m. -Adjournment

 

LAST FORUM:

Seizing an Opportunity: Creating special needs housing
September 7, 2011     
9:30 a.m. – 11:45 p.m.
Loudermilk Center for the Regional Community
40 Courtland Street NE, Atlanta GA 30303

Agenda

9:00 a.m. Registration

9:30 a.m. Welcome – Bill Bolling, Context for Forum

9:45 a.m. Seizing an opportunity: Creating special needs housing

Panelist Include:

Paul Bolster, PhD
Principal Consultant
Support Housing

Carol S. Collard, PhD, LMSW
President and CEO, CaringWorks, Inc.
Assistant Professor, Kennesaw State University

Doug Scott
Housing Coordinator
Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities

Our regional community is a complex quilt of many people with a variety of housing needs. Unfortunately, “supportive” or “special needs” affordable housing demands remain unmet while financial and other resources are available through various governmental agencies. Consider the following:

• Many single adults cope with a mental or physical disability. If they are also low-income, it is highly likely that their housing options are extremely limited. The U.S. Department of Justice ruled in October of 2010 in its Olmstead decision that Georgia was derelict in its provision of housing for such persons, and decreed that the state must increase its assertive community treatment options and case management in combination with supportive housing to serve 9,000 people with mental illness in community settings. How will the state accomplish this?

• According to a pre-recession report by Georgia State University and Pathways Community Network, more than 9,000 people experience homelessness in Atlanta in any given year. For many, the experience may be transient but approximately 20% are among the chronically homeless. Their number includes adults coping with substance addiction and/or a disabling physical or mental condition. Notable subsets of this population include veterans and ex-offenders. It is estimated that slightly more than half of the homeless are housed nightly in Atlanta’s homeless shelters. Still, others are spending nights in hospital emergency rooms and jails---very expensive “housing”.

The metro Atlanta housing market is awash with housing inventory that must be sold before the housing market and economic recovery can occur. Can the oversupply of housing be part of the solution to address special needs housing? Does recent action by the Justice Department create opportunities to further meet special housing needs? What do housing agencies, nonprofit organizations and developers need to know to maximize the opportunities available?

Studies have proven conclusively that special needs housing is a far more cost effective way to house these individuals than other taxpayer-supported alternatives. Our community needs to understand the issues surrounding supportive housing and that this housing can be delivered in a high quality fashion with minimal impact on the community.

Join us at the September 7, 2011 Regional Housing Forum to explore how our region can better connect the supply of housing with individuals and families with unmet housing needs.

Healthy Homes, Healthy Communities, Healthy Lives
June 1, 2011 - 9:30 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.
The Loudermilk Center for the Regional Community
40 Courtland Street
Atlanta, GA 30303

Download the Resource Guide provided at the 6/1 Forum

For a family to live a successful life, one of the most important considerations is whether or not they have access to healthy and safe housing. A healthy home is a home designed, constructed, maintained, or rehabilitated in a manner that supports the health of residents and promotes safe, decent, and sanitary housing as a means for preventing disease and injury (National Center for Healthy Housing).

But this concept of healthy homes also extends into the community it is a part of, as a safe and healthy “home” is more than the roof over one’s head. Healthy homes ought to be integrally connected to healthy communities, as the way we design and build our communities also impacts our physical and mental health. 

Presenters:

Mary Jean Brown, Ph.D., Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC: Framing the Issue --The Data on Healthy Homes, Healthy Communities and Healthy People.

Denis Blackburn, The Woda Group, LLC – Highlights of the Sustainable Fellwood development, the successful redevelopment of existing affordable housing to a green and sustainable standard.

Andrea Pinabell, Sustainable Cities Institute – Through the Sustainable Cities Institute the Home Depot Foundation provides proactive solutions to helping create healthy “green” communities. Andrea will touch on some of the good work being done in our region, and discuss resources available through the SCI technical assistance website.

Laura Keyes, AICP, Atlanta Regional Commission: Lifelong Communities; The Mableton Lifelong Community Example. Mableton is two years into a three year grant program designed to facilitate a lifelong community. Laura will discuss some of the initiatives underway and lessons learned in this community.


SEE FULL DETAILS  


2011 Forums
Q3 - September 7, 2011 - Seizing an Opportunity: Creating special needs housing
Q2 - June 1, 2011 - Healthy Homes, Healthy Communities, Healthy Lives
Q1 - March 2, 2011 -Housing Challenges and Opportunities in the Emerging Economic Recovery 


2010 Forums
Q4 - No Forum Held
Q3 - Sept. 1, 2010 - Transit-Oriented Development and Affordable Housing
Q2 - June 2, 2010 - The Role of Single Family Mortgage Finance in Stabilizing Metro
Q1 - March 3, 2010 - Distressed Properties in Metro Atlanta: Suffering the Consequences and Formulating Responses

Earlier Forums