2 non-profits serving metro Atlanta’s most vulnerable share 2026 priorities

Battling homelessness in Atlanta

Hope Atlanta says they are seeing increased need due to increasing costs. Partners for Home says they are expecting to build hundreds of new units that people can afford.

ATLANTA - Two non-profit organizations that support some of metro Atlanta’s most vulnerable are sharing their priorities for 2026.

What they're saying:

Hope Atlanta said they are seeing the face of homelessness change. Senior Director of Development Sarah Buckley said the organization has seen more families walk through their doors who cannot keep up with rent or food costs.

Partners for Home said they are looking forward to building hundreds of new units that people can afford to live in.

The two organizations said affordability, housing and rental assistance are some of the priorities for the upcoming year.

"Rents are skyrocketing," Buckley said. "There's a lot of changes that are going on, and it's really placing some people who are already in a tough spot in even harder positions."

What we know:

Partners for Home CEO Cathryn Vassell said they delivered about 500 rapid housing units in conjunction with Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens’ office last year.

She said they plan on delivering just under 350 units this year.

"Some of the individuals that we support have zero income because they are disabled," Vassell said. "They're going through the disability process with social security, and that can take a couple of years in some cases."

Hope Atlanta said their calls for help increased from about 3,000 calls per month to about 15,000 calls per month in 2025.

"We're seeing that increased need, but all of the resources are going down," Buckley said. "Hope Atlanta does receive some federal funding. Obviously, a little bit of that is going to change, and so where we lack in funding coming from certain sources, we need to make up for that funding elsewhere."

What's next:

Partners for Home said the point-in-time count is scheduled for Jan. 26.

The count is mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for all communities that receive federal funding. The count also gives a glimpse of how many people are experiencing homelessness on any given night.