Program offers help to let seniors afford to stay in their neighborhood

Mayor declares ‘legacy community is the heartbeat of our city.’

Funding to help protect homeowners and renters from being forced out of their neighborhoods because of rising home costs is on the way to the city of Atlanta.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens announced a new pilot program Thursday that will bring $550,000 to residents concerned about housing stability through Rocket Community Fund, a Detroit-based organization that helps address housing inequities.

The nonprofit is investing $250,000 to help cover property tax increases for low-income senior citizen homeowners. The organization is also investing $300,000 to the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation, to help strengthen eviction defense services.

Seniors age 65 and older are eligible for the program.

Speaking to a group at the C.T. Martin Natatorium and Recreation Center, Dickens said this new program is vital because it will help keep seniors in their homes.

“Legacy community is the heartbeat of our city,” Dickens said.

“People are moving in, and property values are going up, which means unfortunately, the taxes associated with the house goes up, but this will help them be able to keep those taxes from being a burden to them,” Dickens said.

Laura Grannemann, executive director of the Rocket Community Fund, said the organization completed a door-to-door survey of Atlanta residents and found widespread concern about displacement, mainly from eviction and tax foreclosure.

“We found 76% of homeowners were worried about their next tax payment. Fifty-one percent of longtime renters were worried about eviction within the next year,” Grannemann said.

Mary Jamila Jones, who runs a retirement program at the Old Adamsville Recreation Center, said the funding is important because increased housing costs and home maintenance can be too much for some people on fixed incomes. “My retirement checks go only so far,” Jones said.

Applications are available on the city’s website, or by calling the city’s Office of Constituent Services.

JILLIAN PRICE/JILLIAN.PRICE@AJC.COM Mayor Andre Dickens announces a pilot program to bring $550,000 to residents concerned about being able to stay in their homes because of rising costs and taxes.