DeKalb County first in Georgia to reach “functional zero” for homeless veterans

“This is a celebration for the least, the lost and the left out,” DeKalb County iCEO Lee May said during an event to announce the benchmark and recognize those involved in helping achieve it.

The term functional zero means that any homeless veteran who will accept housing will receive it, May said.

“If you are a veteran in DeKalb County and need a place to live, we will help you,” May said. “There is no reason for you to be homeless here.”

The county partnered with many community organizations to answer the Mayor’s Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness, issued by first lady Michelle Obama in 2014. The challenge called on cities, counties and states to commit to ending and preventing homelessness .

In the first three-quarters of 2016, DeKalb housed 378 veterans through permanent housing, Veterans Affairs supportive housing vouchers and other programs, May said.

May said organizations like DeKalb Workforce Housing worked with county officials to look at barriers with housing and visit landlords of private residences to ensure they were willing to work with the county to house veterans.

To reach functional zero, a number of requirements had to be met.

One requirement was that veterans have quick access to permanent housing.

Today, the average number of days to permanently house veterans who are willing to accept housing is 90 days or less, according to a county press release.

Another requirement looks for a community to have sufficient permanent housing.

May said the number of veterans exiting homelessness and entering permanent housing is now greater than the number of newly identified veterans struggling with homelessness.

Michael German with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development said the benchmark does not mean homelessness does not or will not still happen, rather that there are systems in place to prevent it.

“I am so thankful that here in DeKalb we answered the call and are doing our best to meet the needs of those who cannot do for themselves. — who also answered the call at one point in their lives to serve our country in a time of war,” May said.

Robin Jackson, deputy director for the VA Southeast Network, or VISN 7, said DeKalb is the first county not only in Georgia to reach the benchmark, but in his entire region. VISN 7’s network covers Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina.

“Only a community coming together can accomplish this feat,” Jackson said.

Now, May said he hopes all of the other 159 counties in Georgia will try and duplicate what DeKalb has done.

“If we can share our story and model, our state will be better for it,” he said.

One story being told not just locally but across the country is that of United State Veteran Larry Mainor.

Mainor spent years homeless on the Atlanta streets. In 2009, he was able to obtain housing and has since married and visited the White House where Michelle Obama told his story.

“One of the best moves I made in my life was when I came to the VA and asked for help,” Mainor said. “It feels good to walk up to a door and put a key in instead of wondering where I will stay tonight or what I will eat. I am very proud to have come this far.”

According to a report from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, in January of 2015 more than 13,000 individuals were homeless in Georgia — with more than 1,000 of those in DeKalb County.

That number was down 19 percent from 2013, where nearly 17,000 people were identified as being homeless.