Why Hope Atlanta Is Investing in Place-Based Strategy
Neighborhoods shape everything—from housing access and job opportunities to mental health outcomes and generational wealth. In fact, a person’s ZIP code is one of the strongest predictors of their health—even more than their genetic code. That’s why Hope Atlanta has adopted a Place-Based Strategy that aligns housing, behavioral health, transportation, and employment resources based on the specific needs of each neighborhood.
What We Know:
• In Buckhead and Midtown, high housing costs displace low-income renters
• On the Westside and South Atlanta, housing may be available, but supportive services are not
• Resource deserts lack access to transportation, healthcare, or mental health care—barriers that deepen instability By focusing on high-need, low-resource neighborhoods, we’re working to level the playing field and close the gaps that fuel homelessness.
How We’re Doing It:
• Tailoring housing solutions through partnerships with affordable housing developers and eviction prevention teams
• Expanding behavioral health care where services are scarce— through mobile outreach and embedded clinicians
• Building community networks that foster social connection and long-term stability
• Launching service hubs at key affordable housing sites to bundle wraparound services where people already live •
Engaging trusted, neighborhood-specific partners in workforce development, legal aid, and healthcare
• Improving coordination of fragmented systems to avoid duplication and make services easier to navigate
By rooting our work in community—and data—we’re creating a more just, more effective model of care.
Hope Atlanta partnered with a graduate research team from Georgia State University to conduct a Housing Insecurity ZIP Code and Census Tract Analysis for the City of Atlanta. The project aimed to identify areas of highest need to help guide Hope Atlanta’s future program expansion. Using a literature informed housing insecurity index that incorporated six weighted variables, the team analyzed and ranked every ZIP code and census tract within the city. The results revealed five priority ZIP codes—30303, 30315, 30314, 30310, and 30311—and top census tracts including Thomasville Heights, Adamsville, Mechanicsville/Summerhill/Peoplestown, Bankhead, and The Villages at Carver. The team also developed an interactive heatmap with overlays showing service providers and available resources, enabling Hope Atlanta to identify both service gaps and potential local partners. This data-driven tool is now helping us target our interventions where they’re needed most—and informing our place-based strategy to prevent and end housing insecurity across Atlanta.
