By Julio Carrillo, CEO of Hope Atlanta
There are moments in a city’s life when the world is watching.
In 2026, the world will indeed turn its eyes toward Atlanta. Stadiums will fill. Cameras will roll. Visitors will arrive from every continent. But long before the first whistle blows, a deeper question stands before us:
What kind of city are we becoming?
This Field Report tells a story that goes far beyond buildings and events. It is the story of a city choosing dignity over displacement. Coordination over fragmentation. Long-term solutions over short-term optics. It is the story of Atlanta deciding that readiness is not something you switch on for a global moment — it is something you build every day.
At the heart of this report is Waterworks — 100 permanent supportive homes where housing, healthcare, and human dignity meet by design. Not by accident. Not as an afterthought. But intentionally. Through partnership. Through trust. Through the belief that housing is not charity — it is infrastructure.
Through Project HEAL, we are witnessing a profound shift: 80–85% of hospital patients who once would have been discharged back to the street are now discharged into housing. Early data shows up to 40% hospital cost avoidance and an estimated $2.8 million in annual savings tied to these 100 homes. But beyond the numbers lies something even more powerful — a human truth: when housing stabilizes, health stabilizes. And when health stabilizes, lives begin again.
You will read Jordan’s story. A simple sentence stays with me: “Somewhere I know I can lay my head and feel safe.” That is what this work is about. Safety. Stability. The quiet dignity of turning a key in your own door.
You will also see the ecosystem that makes this possible — Winnwood, Bonaventure, The Melody, and Downtown Rising Outreach. Boots on the ground building trust day after day. Outreach that is not displacement, but sustained engagement. Housing that does not manage homelessness but works to end it.
Most importantly, you will see community in action. Volunteers assembling furniture. Corporate leaders stepping forward. Healthcare partners embedding navigators in discharge planning. The Continuum of Care, led by Partners for HOME, advancing solutions grounded in data, dignity, and coordination. And Mayor Andre Dickens, with a strategic vision and deep affinity to our unhoused neighbors, championing cross-sector collaboration and investing in long-term solutions.
Housing one person strengthens the systems of many.
This is not a moment. It is a movement.
As Atlanta Rising continues to take shape, we are building systems designed to persist— not just during FIFA, not just during headlines — long after the spotlight fades. Atlanta knows that true readiness is measured not by what visitors see for a few weeks, but by what our neighbors experience every day.
I invite you to read this report with curiosity. With pride. And with a sense of possibility. HopeFieldReport_Q1-2026.pdf
The work described here is proof that homelessness is not intractable. It is solvable when cities choose coordination, compassion, and accountability. When housing becomes the strategy. When dignity becomes the standard.
Atlanta is preparing for the world.
But more importantly, we are preparing for one another.
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