Homelessness could be on the rise in Hall County, with many state and local officials and nonprofits looking for causes and solutions.
“The largest barrier to getting housed is getting a livable income,” Family Promise of Hall County Executive Director Lindsey McCamy said. “I mean, it's very difficult to find an income that you can pay three times your rent.”
McCamy makes a good point, with the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the state of Georgia increasing from $705 in 2020 to $960 in 2024, a 36.2% increase in just four years.
Family Promise of Hall County is located in Oakwood and shelters up to 11 families (around 55 people) at any given time since opening their center fully in January of this year, with McCamy saying they are always rolling over or at capacity.
The Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) also offers help, acting as an intermediary to provide grant funding to nonprofits and municipalities. Philip Gilman, their Deputy Commissioner of Housing Assistance and Development, believes supply could also be an issue.
“It's a pretty straightforward supply and demand issue,” Gilman said. “So we're not building enough housing at any price point. And when you don't build enough housing, and you bring more and more people in, rents are gonna go up.”
The DCA does a Point in Time count (PIT) biannually and the numbers of homeless people statewide went from 4,183 in 2019 to 5,856 in 2022, a 40% increase. That was the count for those considered “literally homeless.”
The DCA has four different classifications: literally homeless, imminent risk of homelessness, homeless under other federal statutes, and fleeing domestic violence. Literally homeless is defined as an individual or family who lacks a “fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.”
The count in Hall County was a much steeper increase, however.
The 2019 PIT counts showed 159 total sheltered and unsheltered homeless people in Hall. The 2022 numbers jumped to 479, a 201.3% increase.
Gilman said that there will be an expected increase in the 2024 counts coming out later this year state-wide and in Hall County.
Gainesville Mayor Sam Couvillon also noticed the trend of housing unaffordability.
“Rents have gone up. So even people at the bottom end of where rents used to be six or $700 a month, the lowest rents may be $1,000,” Couvillon said. “There's a lot of varying factors that are pushing people into homelessness.”
Gainesville particularly has an average rent for a two-bed of $1,386, which is more expensive than 90% of other fair market rent areas.
United Way of Hall County also provided financial hardship statistics for the state.
They have what is called an ALICE count, which stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. It defines individuals that earn above the poverty level, but cannot afford the basic cost of living in their county.
The 2021 numbers for Hall County sat at 43% at or below the ALICE threshold.
In the state of Georgia, 32% of people were below the ALICE threshold in 2007. Since then, that number has risen to 47%.
With the amount of households living paycheck to paycheck, McCamy pointed out how easy it can be to become homeless without a support system.
“Just because you're homeless doesn't mean you're lazy or a drug user, you probably don't have support or your car has broken down and it's cost you $500,” McCamy said.
And Gilman echoes this sentiment, saying there has been a rise in the amount of people experiencing homelessness for the first time.
“What we see predominantly in the homeless population are folks experiencing what we call episodic homelessness,” Gilman said. “So we saw about a 25% increase in people who are experiencing homelessness for the first time.”
With all the issues laid out, what are possible solutions?
“Do we have enough affordable housing? No. Do we have enough workforce housing? No. These are things that are top of mind, we try to think of,” Couvillon said.
Couvillon said he and the Gainesville City Council have tried to keep the issue at the top of their list. Recently, they secured $2.5 million in funding from the DCA to allow the city to improve stormwater infrastructure on city-owned property.
This would make the land buildable, allowing The Gainesville Nonprofit Development Foundation to construct between 17 and 23 single-family homes and The Norton Agency to construct 66 rental housing units which will be available based on income.
On Tuesday, there was an event to break ground on a 120-unit affordable apartment community.
The Gainesville Housing Authority and Paces Preservation Partners — a partnership between Soho Housing Partners and the Paces Foundation — will have a public-private collaboration to develop the housing at Harrison Village for those earning between 30% and 80% of the area's median income.
“There are a lot of factors that go into it,” Gainesville Housing CEO Beth Brown said. “But for the first time in many years, people are actually talking about affordable housing.”
United Way of Hall County was also at the event, and their President and Chief Principal Officer Jessica Dudley also spoke on the issue.
“It's hard to put yourself in someone else's shoes unless you've been there,” Dudley said. “But when a family or a person comes in and is in crisis, they are really looking at immediate needs.”
United Way of Hall County connects those experiencing homelessness with a unique plan according to Dudley, offering a one-stop shop to connect people with services they are eligible for.
Couvillon also mentioned a partnership between the city and Good News at Noon to create a bonafide day shelter in Hall County at the Set Free Ministry building.
Other services in Hall County include the Salvation Army, Good News at Noon, My Sister’s Place, and Gateway.
