The following materials are for your review on the current status of housing for Veterans, whether disabled or Homeless, in Cherokee County Georgia. The information presented comes from various sources to include:

• State of Georgia Home Trust – 2024 PIT count
• Georgia State Senate – Report from their Study of Veteran Mental health and Veteran Homelessness
• Georgia Department of Community Affairs – SSVF coverage map
• SSDI white paper
• 2025 Housing Study conducted in June/July 2025 by interviewing Apartment Complexes in Cherokee County
• Letter from Hope Atlanta stating that they are out of fund for the remainder of this fiscal year which ends on September 30

Overview of Findings

Reviewing reports and data can sometimes be monotonous and overwhelming, so here is a recap of key points:

• Currently, the Federal Housing program for Veterans called SSVF is out of funds and no Veterans who are homeless or being evicted will be able to get financial help from Hope Atlanta/Federal Government for the remainder of this fiscal year as they are out of funds. Remember, the fiscal year ends on September 30th. 
• The two other programs that house Veterans from the Federal Government, ie Per Diem and HUD VASH, do not cover Cherokee County and therefore are not available to support our Veterans in need.
• Over the past 12 months, the number of Apartment complexes that support the SSVF program has been decreased by 62.5% as 5 of the 8 apartment complexes that supported this program last year no do. This leaves only 3 apartment complexes. Over this past year there have been 5 new apartment complexes that have added over 1,500 new apartments.
• The Average 2-bedroom apartment is roughly $1,600 per month not including utilities. At this level Veterans who are 100% Service Connected (SC) disabled cannot qualify for over 95% of the apartments in Cherokee County due to what is called the Rent to Income ratio. The current Rent to Income Ratio of roughly 3:1 for the 2-bedroom apartment that you have income of $4,800 per month which is 3x the $1,600 of the apartment. 100% SC Disabled Veterans only make $4,000 per month and therefore do not qualify for the apartment. What we are seeing is Veteran having to seek less than optimal housing for their family and an increase in Mental Health issues as well.
• For those Veterans that are 100% service-connected disabled there is a benefit that over 1.4 million Veterans may not be aware called SSDI. When you become rated at 100% Permanent and Total you automatically become eligible for the Social Security Administrations benefit called Social Security Disability Insurance or SSDI. This benefit would get you another $2,000 per month in tax free income. This with your VA compensation would allow the Veteran to qualify for over 95% of the 10,000+ apartments in Cherokee County as you would be making about $6,000 a month, well above the 3:1 Rent to Income Ration required for a 2-bedroom apartment. The issue here is that our elected officials have dragged their feet in passing an appropriations bill to add one sentence on the VA Award Letter letting Veterans know of this benefit. Applying is simple, so if you are 100% VA service-connected Disabled at the Permanent and Total level you just need to take your DD214 and VA Award Level to the nearest Social Security Office and file for SSDI.
• In Cherokee County, there are roughly 25 Senior Living Facilities. Many of our Senior Veterans make less than $1,000 per month on Social Security. Even if they were to qualify for the VA benefit of Aide and Attendance which provides up to $2,970 a month for assisted living they cannot qualify for these Senior Living facilities due to them costing over $5,000 per month.