ADID Outreach Team
Our Initiative
Founded in 2020, the ADID Outreach Team uses a trauma-informed approach to connect people experiencing homelessness to the support they need. The Outreach Team is comprised of outreach specialists and case managers whose deployment is coordinated with the Ambassador Force. The team responds to non-criminal, non-emergency concerns related to public disturbances, substance abuse, and mental health crises. Partnerships continue with shelter operators to secure beds for ADID clients.
In 2022, the Outreach Team joined in the Homeless Management Information System to better track services, barrier information, and coordinate outreach activity with other organizations in Downtown Atlanta. Tracked services include shelter placement, hygiene kit distribution, transportation assistance, resource referral, and clothing donations.
The ADID Outreach Team participates in inter-agency collaboration in the LIFT 2.0 initiative, Partners for HOME’s homeless response plan that will prioritize people experiencing unsheltered and chronic homelessness. The plan utilizes a phased approach that reduces encampments, moves people into housing, and ensures they have access to wraparound support services to achieve lasting self-sufficiency. With recent investments of City and State funds totaling $26.6M, Partners for HOME has set a goal to house 1,500 households.
Our Outcomes
2022 Metrics:
- People Enrolled to Receive Services = 218
- Collaborative placements into Transitional or Permanent Housing = 140
2021 Metrics:
- Community Calls for Service = 741
- Connections to Shelter = 1,301
- COVID-19 Testing and Vaccination Linkages = 1,282
- Contact Engagements = 2,525
- Collaborative placements into Transitional or Permanent Housing, Cumulative (2020 and 2021) = 276
2020 Highlights:
- Engaged over 900 men, women, and women with children, or what represents nearly 30% of Atlanta’s entire homeless census and directly connected many of them with services required to meet basic needs, including the opportunity for more than 350 individuals to end their current episode of unsheltered homelessness, accounting for almost 80 homeless veterans in that total.
- Acted as a conduit in getting over 400 individuals tested for COVID-19, providing masks, hand-washing stations, and other essentials to promote public health in a pandemic.
- Served as a value add to the stakeholders from both the business and residential communities of Downtown Atlanta responding to over 200 calls from area hotels, restaurants, storefronts, property managers, and security personnel who partnered with the initiative to address street homelessness within the ADID.
- Having demonstrated proof of concept, the initiative was approved by the ADID Board of Directors to continue operations into 2021, furthering the business community’s commitment as stakeholders who are equally concerned about those who are vulnerable, as well as being dedicated to the vibrancy of Downtown Atlanta as a safe and inclusive live, work, and entertainment destination.
Our Approach
The Outreach Team is dispatched by direct calls from the Atlanta Downtown stakeholder community and through observational engagement in problem-solving conversations with those experiencing street homelessness throughout the Downtown Improvement District. The team responds to non-criminal, non-emergency quality of life, business nuisance, public disturbance, substance use, or mental health concerns related to homelessness within the 4 square miles of the Atlanta Downtown Corridor generally bounded by North Avenue, Boulevard, I-20, and Northside Drive. The Outreach Team is staffed with trauma-informed community outreach workers to connect Social Workers and Safety Advocates trained in de-escalation and crisis management with a network of connections to shelter, treatment, and care providers for those experiencing homelessness in Downtown Atlanta. Call the dispatch line: 404-215-9600
Community Resource Card
We have created a Community Resource Card as a tool to assist persons in need of shelter and food resources. It can also be utilized as a helpful guide to contacts for safety, cleanliness, and other Downtown resources. The card is a tangible resource of homeless services, providers, and public safety information that can be downloaded or requested from us as needed. Please keep the Community Resource Card as a reference and stay tuned for opportunities to learn, participate in conversations, and join the collective effort to support the most vulnerable among us with dignity and respect.
View & Download the Resource Card
2021 Street Homelessness Survey
Central Atlanta Progress and the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District conducted the 2021 Street Homelessness Survey to understand the reality of unsheltered homelessness on the streets of Downtown Atlanta. Results from the Survey provide an insightful perspective on the number of individuals who are experiencing street homelessness and what their various needs are.
For more information about the Outreach Team and other ADID social impact priorities, please contact Nakasha Shoyinka at nshoyinka@atlantadowntown.com