This Atlanta neighborhood has hired a full-time social worker to support people experiencing homelessness

Homelessness has increased across the US in recent years, rising 19% from 2016 through 2023. The main reason is the severe shortage of affordable housing. The rise in homelessness has reignited debates about the use of public space and how encampments affect public safety.

The US Supreme Court recently examined these discussions in its 2024 decision Grants Pass v. Johnson. The court ruling gives cities the authority to prohibit people from sleeping and camping in public spaces, allowing the use of fines and prohibitions to deal with rising levels of homelessness.

East Atlanta Village, a historically Black neighborhood in Atlanta with about 3,000 residents, is trying something different. In the fall of 2023, with the support of the Atlanta City Council, the mayor’s office and Intown Cares, a local nonprofit that works to alleviate homelessness and hunger, the neighborhood hired a full-time social worker to support people experiencing homelessness.

Michael Nolan, a social worker at Intown Cares, trained in a way that emphasizes individual independence and dignity, recognizes that homelessness is a traumatic experience, and prioritizes access to housing. Her role includes helping individuals obtain the documents they need to get off the streets, such as copies of their birth certificates and Social Security cards. He also has a dedicated hotline that members of the public can use to alert him of dangerous situations involving the homeless.

I am a researcher at the University of Washington studying systems and technologies that help urban areas thrive. I am also a resident of East Atlanta Village and helped the neighborhood plan and evaluate this test.

Last year, my colleagues and I collected data about the social work program to understand how it can support both homeless people and the wider community. Our initial findings suggest that neighborhood social work is a promising approach to addressing common challenges in many homeless communities.

I believe this approach has the potential to provide long-term solutions to homelessness and improve the health and safety of every neighborhood. I also see it as very different from the sentencing approach approved by the Supreme Court.

Resolving disputes in the public domain

One of the people I interviewed while researching this initiative was Rebecca, an East Atlanta Village resident who walks her dog at the local park every day. In the fall of 2023, he saw that a man had moved to the park and set up a tent. At first, the area was clean, but within a few weeks there was litter around the tent and throughout the park.

Rebecca felt that the trash had ruined one of the few green spaces in the area. He decided to touch Nolan. Nolan told him that he knew the homeless man, he was working with him to find a place to live and in the meantime he would help him move his tent to a strange place.

Such discussions around public spaces are common challenges in areas with high homeless populations, especially in dense urban areas. Other examples in our data include arguments where a homeless person starts sleeping in their car outside of another resident’s home, and when a homeless man wanders into a homeowner’s yard.

The usual approach in these cases is to fine, ban or imprison the person who is not in the house. But those strategies are expensive, can prolong homelessness and do little to solve problems.

Conversely, hiring a social worker has enabled East Atlanta Village to resolve conflicts gently, through discussion and negotiation. Solutions address community health and safety concerns and offer homeless people a chance for long-term change.

Meeting basic needs

This past year, the program helped 13 people move into housing. Nolan facilitated over 180 mental health care visits to people living on the street.

Eighty-six people are connected to Medicaid, food assistance or Social Security benefits. 35 people have health care for the first time, and six people have started receiving medication for their addiction.

Research shows that addressing people’s basic needs by helping them find food, medicine, shelter and other needs not only supports those people but also produces huge benefits for the entire community. They include reduced inequality, better health outcomes and lower crime rates.

Managing mental and behavioral health

Research has found that nearly two-thirds of homeless people struggle with mental health challenges. Unmet mental and behavioral health needs can contribute to unsafe and illegal behavior.

The US does not have a comprehensive system in place to support people who live on the streets and struggle with chronic mental health and behavioral challenges. Although more infrastructure is needed, in East Atlanta Village, Nolan is able to see people experiencing homelessness, work with clinics to deliver addiction treatment and mental health needs and warn community members of dangerous situations.

For example, in December 2023 a homeless man was arrested in East Atlanta Village for burglary, stealing mail and other unusual behavior. When concerned residents posted on a neighborhood Facebook group, Nolan responded that he knew the man well, that this behavior was unusual and that he would look into the situation.

Nolan later updated his post, noting that the man had been arrested but said he would “continue to follow up and make sure his current behavior does not return upon his release.”

In other examples, Nolan has helped decrease situations where people experience mental health episodes in local coffee shops and churches.

A model for other cities

Cities around the US have decisions to make about dealing with homelessness and the challenges that come with it. Neighborhood social work is not a magic bullet, but my colleagues and I see it as a promising way to address the most common challenges that neighborhoods with high levels of homelessness face.

East Atlanta Village is currently working with the Atlanta City Council to renew funding for the program, which cost $100,000 in its first year. We hope that other neighbors also consider this strategy when they decide how to deal with homelessness in their areas.

Ishita Chordia is a PhD student in information science at the University of Washington.

This article has been republished from The conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the first article.