Annual State of Atlanta Housing report highlights expanded programs, homeownership

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Atlanta Housing CEO Terri Lee (right) joined a fireside chat about homelessness and housing policy with Author Brian Goldstone moderated by GPB’s Donna Lowry at the housing brief.

Credit: Amanda Andrews/GPB News

Last year, Atlanta Housing launched a plan to help families using housing vouchers reach self-sufficiency. Leaders shared updates on the impact of that plan during the second annual State of Atlanta Housing brief Tuesday. 

The Resident Renaissance plan expanded services for the nearly 20,000 residents receiving rental assistance from Atlanta Housing. The expansion offered in home care to seniors, meal deliveries, youth programs, college scholarships, and workforce development. 

Organizations including Invest Atlanta, the United Way of Greater Atlanta, Goodwill, and the Georgia Department of Community Affairs partnered with Atlanta Housing to support the expansion. 

Atlanta Housing CEO Terri Lee said under the Resident Renaissance, stable housing isn’t the final step but is a foundation for a better city. 

"When that housing is paired with a path to economic mobility, neighborhoods are stronger," she said. "Public resources go further, and families regain the power to shape their own future. Some may ask, is that really Atlanta Housing's work? Is that the work of a housing authority? Some may believe that the current system works well enough. Well, I don't."

In February, U.S Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner proposed housing voucher changes and limitations. 

Lee said her coalition is preparing residents in advance to minimize federal policy impacts. 

"If policy is moving towards time limits — and that's time limits on rental assistance, right? Stronger work requirements," she said. "It is our duty and responsibility to make sure that we create a pathway for our residents to be successful. We cannot let our residents be left behind."

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Signage at the annual housing brief highlights the future Atlanta Housing envisions for the city.

Credit: Amanda Andrews/GPB News

Other speakers at the event included Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, Atlanta Public Schools alumni Demar Goodman, and Atlanta Housing Board Chair Larry Stewart. 

Stewart said there is an urgent need for housing in Atlanta, especially for adults under 35 who work in the city but can’t afford to live in it. 

"If we do not answer this call right now in this moment, we will lose something fundamental," he said. "We risk losing the very fabric of what makes Atlanta special and the promises that the future generations can build their lives here in the ways that so many of us have."

In 2025, Atlanta Housing spent $102 million to create or preserve about 1,800 units of affordable housing. The housing authority invested another $4.9 million into down payment assistance. 

Lee said the number of homes built isn’t the only way Atlanta Housing will measure their impact.  

"It would be measure by the child who graduates because he or she had a stable address," she said. "It would be measured by the father who closes on his first home because someone helped him understand credit and savings. It would be measured by their grandmother who ages in place because her home was modernized with dignity in mind."

Lee also announced an expanded downpayment assistance program. It will offer up to $60,000 for eligible Atlanta Housing tenants to become homeowners.