Atlanta Downtown Improvement District has new initiative to help with homelessness issues

September 2,2020

Pamela Miller, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Often, homelessness is not the only thing going on in a person’s life. Homelessness is many times connected to mental illness or an issue related to substance abuse. Behaviors of a person experiencing a crisis can be unpredictable and can change drastically without warning. To help combat the many issues surrounding homelessness, the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District has developed an initiative called A.S.I.S.T., according to a press release.

Its role is to attempt to de-escalate using skills, training, and experience to identify therapeutic needs and treatment options for homeless residents.

The community-based pandemic related homeless outreach initiative was developed due to the service limitations hindering outreach and service providers. It will be deployed as a mobile response unit to build capacity in the homeless service system on a short-term basis while community providers and their outreach teams work to resume uninterrupted service delivery.

Read the complete article at the link above.