Atlanta officials commit extra $2 million to city’s eviction diversion program

Atlanta’s eviction diversion program is getting an extra $2 million in a boost to funding after the successful launch in December.

According to the mayor’s office, the Atlanta City Council approved legislation to increase the program’s funding, with Councilmember Andrea L. Boone sponsoring the legislation on behalf of the administration of Mayor Andre Dickens.

Now, nonprofit Star C Corporation will get $2 million to assist low-income Atlanta families at risk of being evicted, and displaced.

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“Atlanta families are feeling the burden of rising housing costs, especially those in low-income and underserved communities. When you are already challenged financially, you are only one bad day or one serious health emergency from not being able to pay your rent or mortgage,” Dickens said in a statement. “In just a matter of months, we have seen hundreds of families benefit from the eviction prevention program, and hundreds more have applied and are waiting for assistance. Thanks to City Council’s support today for these efforts, we are now able to help even more families avoid worst-case-scenarios and keep the stability that housing provides for both them and our community.”

The city said since the program launch, “Star-C has prevented the displacement of more than 220 families. More than 500 additional households have already applied for assistance through this program.”

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When the program launched in December, it was given a $2 million budget. Since the start, it’s used $1.56 million to function.

The mayor’s office said the extra $2 million will help Atlanta keep families in their homes and prevent them from becoming homeless.

Reiterating a commitment to not treating the homeless like criminals, Dickens said in a statement that he and the city have “charted a years-long course to provide safe, secure and affordable housing for all Atlantans,” even after last week’s ruling in the U.S. Supreme Court which decided “that cities can criminalize people experiencing homelessness.”

As previously reported by Channel 2 Action News , once the SCOTUS decision was public, Dickens came out strongly against the notion of criminalizing homelessness.

Dickens told Channel 2′s Tom Jones that falling on hard times was not a crime, noting that since taking office, the city has humanely relocated hundreds of individuals from encampments to places like the Ralph David House. Dickens said those people are now working their way back to self-sufficiency.

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