The shrinking availability of affordable housing coupled with income inequality is squeezing Georgians out of the home market; competition for rental units has increased over the years as incomes have been slow to rise. Cost-burdened households are spending more than half of their income on housing and face challenges with housing. If you are an advocate looking to work in this space, the following may help you connect with organizations focused on building safe and affordable low income housing, provide tools to individuals to become self-sufficient, and provide resources on financial literacy, credit repair, education, and financial assistance.
Legislative Committees
House Committee on Intragovernmental Coordination
This committee is assigned all local legislation – meaning any bill processed through the House that primarily affects only one political subdivision (such as a city or a county) – and is assigned legislation affecting a variety of subjects, including local governments.
Senate Committee on State and Local Governmental Operations
This committee has two general areas of jurisdiction; laws relating to:
- Special taxes, city and county organization and powers, subdivisions, and administration of special districts.
- Counties and cities throughout the entire state, which involves the processing of legislation with limited local impact. Special abbreviated procedures are available for this kind of legislation.
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nATIONAL
National
Affordable Housing Advisory Services
Provides asset management and consulting services to clients in the affordable housing industry who own multifamily assets – including properties subsidized by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development – and those developed and/or financed with Low Income Housing Tax Credits/HOME, tax-exempt bonds, Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD), and USDA 515 Rural Development Financing.
Affordable Housing Solutions
Provides affordable housing to individuals and families, especially veterans.
American Friends Service Committee
This Quaker-centered organization promotes a world free of violence,
inequality, and oppression. It launched the Home Defender Project to
protect people from eviction during the pandemic and (with the Housing
Justice League) operates the Tenant Power Hotline.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Uses federal funds from the Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF) to help
homeowners who have been financially impacted by COVID-19 pay their
mortgage or other home expenses.
FedCommunities
A project that amplifies the Federal Reserve’s work in low- and moderate-income communities and other underserved areas across the United States.
National Housing Trust
Helps create and preserve affordable homes through policy innovation,
real estate development, and lending to provide opportunity, advance
racial equity, reduce economic disparities and strengthen community
resilience.
National Low Income Housing Coalition
Advances policies to ensure those marginalized and with the lowest incomes have a stable, affordable home.
Stewards for Affordable Housing for the Future
Nonprofit collaborative of twelve multi-state nonprofit affordable housing providers that owns over 149,000 affordable rental homes. It promotes the creation and preservation of healthy, sustainable rental homes that foster equity, opportunity, and wellness for people of limited economic resources.
American Friends Service Committee & Housing Justice League
Sample Letters to Landlords if You Can’t Make Rent
Center for Responsible Lending
Collateral Damage: The Spillover Costs of Foreclosures
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Help for Homeowners: Homeowner Assistance Fund
Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University
America’s Rental Housing: Evolving Market and Needs
National Low Income Housing Coalition
2019 Advocates Guide to Housing and Community Development Programs
E.R.A.S.E. Project: Tenant Protections Resource
Out of Reach: The High Cost of Housing
Tenant Protections and Emergency Rental Assistance During and Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic
Tenant Talk: Emergency Rental Assistance at all Angles
Veterans Affairs: National Center for Homelessness Among Veterans
Permanent Supportive Housing Resource Guide
STATE
Statewide
Georgia Advancing Communities Together (ACT), Inc.
A statewide membership organization of nonprofit housing and community development organizations.
Georgia Affordable Housing Coalition
Offers educational workshops, a quarterly newsletter, a forum for addressing housing policy issues, and networking opportunities to its affordable housing industry members.
Georgia DCA Continuum of Care Network
Assists people experiencing homelessness in Georgia throughout the Continuum of Care Network. There are eight locations throughout the state that serve local areas.
Georgia Department of Community Affairs
As the State’s housing agency, the goal is to provide every Georgian the opportunity to have access to safe and affordable housing, no matter their community or income.
Open Doors
Connects non-profit organizations to real estate operators, to recruit affordable housing options at the executive level quickly. Its programs involve rent guarantees, social support for program residents, Fair Housing guidance and an efficient referral app.
Project Community Connections
Connects people to permanently rehouse homeless people into appropriate, affordable homes – often within 30 days.
Georgia Community Development Block Grant
Georgia CDBG Funding: Recommended Priorities for Housing Support to Residents and Owners
Georgia Department of Community Affairs
Georgia Continuum of Care Contacts for Public Assistance
Georgia State University School of Public Health
Programs and Resources for Housing Assistance in Georgia
Georgia Watch
Georgia Foreclosure Crisis Part One: The Rippling Effects of Reckless Lending
Georgia Foreclosure Crisis: The Road to Reform
Georgia.gov
Assistance Programs Guide
Local Initiatives Support Corporation
Lending Products Fact Sheet
Nautilus Affordable Housing
Georgia Resident Resource Guide
Southern Center for Human Rights
Georgia Reentry Resource Guide
Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future
Centering Residents in Building Decisions: A Provider’s Experience
METRO
Metro Atlanta
ATLA Housing Partnership
Helps low- and moderate-income families enter the economic mainstream through education, housing, development, financing assistance, credit repair, accessory development (ADU), encouraging homeownership, architectural planning, building/construction, financial literacy, and loan modifications. The organization specializes in houses with multifamily retail and eco-friendly designs.
Atlanta Beltline Partnership
Provides help to those impacted by gentrification near the Atlanta Beltline through funds, property tax help, and encouragement to apply for exemptions.
Atlanta Housing
Provides and facilitates affordable housing resources for low-income households. Those resources include residential communities, Housing Choice vouchers, HomeFlex, supportive housing arrangements, and homeownership opportunities.
Atlanta Mission
Provides service to people experiencing homelessness, providing meals, bed nights, counseling sessions, and life skills classes.
CaringWorks
Provides supportive housing, behavioral health, and short-term and long term housing.
Christian City Patio Homes
Provides affordable housing for seniors (65+) for the rest of their lives.
College Park Housing Authority
Oversees both public housing and voucher programs, if available. The Housing Authority owns and manages one facility totaling 264 housing units across the city.
Community Friendship
Offers recovery-based housing programs, which include training in self-sufficiency and independent living, career development, and community integration.
Decatur Housing Authority
Builds housing for low-income households. It develops, owns, and operates 124 workforce homes, offers resources, and helps landlords list their affordable homes.
Essence of Hope
Provides services and housing to individuals suffering from homelessness, addiction, and unemployment.
Family Promise of Forsyth County
Serves families experiencing homelessness by providing a safe place to stay, meals, and programs to help families gain sustainable independence. Typically, the residential program is a 30- to 120-day program with personalized weekly goals and a mentor for each family.
Frontline Housing
Provides permanent housing to individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
Furniture Bank Atlanta
Creates stability for families and individuals in need by distributing donated furniture to families in need.
Helping Hands Partners Limited
Helps elderly and low-income families living in Forsyth through income derived from the thrift store. It provides financial help for food, clothing, rent, and energy bills. To ensure funds are properly distributed to those in a real crisis, it partners with Ninth District Opportunity.
Home Stretch
Helps homeless families in need of financial stability and affordable housing gain stability in finances, employment, and housing.
Housing Justice League
Works with renters and homeowners to self-organize and defend their rights to remain, preserve affordable housing, have just living conditions, prevent gentrification, and to build community power for an Atlanta-wide housing justice movement.
Integrity Transformations Community Development Corporation
Works to transform the residents and neighborhoods of English Avenue, Vine City and other contiguous 30314 and 30318 communities through economic empowerment, affordable housing options, and motivational case management. It also assists in housing acquisition, renovation, and construction, and provides resources for financial literacy and home ownership.
Lifecycle Building Center of Greater Atlanta
Captures building materials from the waste stream and directs them back into the community through reuse.
Making a Way Housing
Provides emergency, transitional, and permanent supportive housing and case management to Atlanta single homeless adults challenged by chronic homelessness, substance abuse, mental illness, and/or HIV/AIDS.
Mercy Housing
Provides one-, two- and three- bedroom apartments and townhomes (in a 90-unit multifamily property).
Re: Loom
Provides permanent, affordable housing to homeless and low-income families in Metro Atlanta. As part of that, it employs individuals as weavers with paid on-the-job training and healthcare coverage.
The Place at Forsyth County
Helps residents with financial needs, clothing, shelter, food, educational opportunities, and support services. It also works with local agencies to help the underemployed and unemployed prepare for and secure jobs. Focus on Forsyth helps needy households through referrals from schools and senior centers.
Zion Keepers
Helps adults struggling with homelessness, substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, and mental illnesses face immediate challenges through housing needs, daily meals, structured environment, substance abuse education, employment assistance, community outreach opportunities, spirituality groups, random
drug screenings, individual evaluation and assessment, work ethics, referral network, and mentoring and advocacy.
Atlanta Beltline
Establish Roots on the Atlanta Beltline (Affordable Housing)
Project Goal: Affordable Housing Overview
Atlanta Housing
Community Resource Guide
Atlanta Land Trust
Atlanta Land Trust: The 4-1-1 on Affordability
City of Atlanta
Affordable Housing ATL: A Resource Guide for Residents
Cobb Collaborative
Cobb County Resource Guide
DeKalb Housing
2020 DeKalb County Resource List
Enterprise Community Partners
Preserving Naturally-Occurring Housing Affordability in Metro Atlanta Neighborhoods
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Atlanta Region Eviction Tracker
Home Ownership Affordability Monitor
Southeastern Rental Affordability Tracker
Gwinnett Cares
Housing Resources – Gwinnett County
Hands on ATL
Direct Service Resource Guide
United Way of Greater Atlanta
NORTNEH
Northeast
Athens Resource Center for Hope
Identifies gaps in the homeless services for the Athens-Clarke County and develops and implements programming to fill those gaps through opportunities afforded by the Navy Supply Corps School Base Reuse Plan. It also offers transitional housing and childcare services.
Northeast Georgia Housing Authority
Links & Resources
Barrow Family Connection
Barrow County Resource Guide
Gainesville Housing
Hall County Affordable Housing Options
Hall County
Emergency Rental Assistance
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Exchange – Athens
Healthcare and Housing (H^2) Systems Integration Initiative
THREE
Three Rivers
Housing Authority of the City of Carrollton
Operates and administers 231 income-based housing units in five developments and manages a Housing Choice Voucher Program. It is funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Community Reinvestment
Housing Programs – Columbus
Homeless Resource Network
Homeless Resource Guide – Columbus
SOUTH
Southern
South Georgia Partnership to End Homelessness
Offers case management, rapid re-housing, prevention, clothing voucher, empowerment classes, and hotel/motel temporary shelter.