Atlanta Affordable Housing Network Spotlight: Georgia Department of Community Affairs

Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) is a longstanding partner of 3Keys and a cornerstone for funding our Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH). Grant funding directly enables our work in caring for our most vulnerable community members experiencing homelessness. 

Every year, the GHFA Permanent Supportive Housing Program provides rental assistance funding specifically for traditionally hard to reach populations – individuals with mental illness and substance use disorders, developmental disabilities, and/or HIV/AIDS. 3Keys work is in keeping with the PSH model that goes beyond housing to include supportive services with the goal of long-term stability. The goals of the GHFA PSH Program are to “assist homeless individuals and their families to increase their housing stability, skills and/or income, and self-sufficiency.”

Grantees apply annually to competitive Continuum of Care grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to secure the funds for GHFA PSH projects. Georgia DCA then distributes these funds to organizations like 3Keys. 

HUD grants for GHFA Permanent Supportive Housing projects fund the following eligible activities:

Our leadership also gives back in return: 3Keys President/CEO Scott Walker serves as a member on the Advisory Council for DCA’s Georgia Supportive Housing Institute. The group is building a network in order to strengthen the knowledge and ability of organizations to deliver Permanent Supportive Housing in their communities across the state.

Funding from HUD and Georgia DCA make it possible to fulfill our vision that individuals experiencing homelessness and mental illness will have access to “three keys” – housing, help, and hope – in order to live with purpose and dignity. The 3Keys is one of many in a network of organizations, from the federal to the state to the local level, dedicated to ending chronic homelessness in Atlanta.

Photo by Kimberly Evans.