Atlanta, Ga. (September 12, 2025) – Piedmont Atlanta Hospital has entered into a multi-year partnership with Partners for HOME (Housing Opportunities Made for Everyone), the lead Atlanta nonprofit working to make homelessness rare, brief and nonrecurring. Piedmont Atlanta is contributing more than $1 million to the effort.
Atlanta Rising is a $212 million long-term, citywide effort to end unsheltered homelessness in Atlanta by scaling sustainable housing and support systems for Atlanta’s most vulnerable residents. The effort is built on evidence-based, housing-first principles and grounded in collaboration between government, nonprofits, service providers and people with lived experience.
Project HEAL (Homeless Empowerment through Accessible Living) is a key initiative of Atlanta Rising that focuses on integrating medical and mental health support with new housing. The initiative will help deliver 500 units of high-quality supportive housing, with some units offering on-site medical and behavioral health services provided through Project HEAL.
“Piedmont as a nonprofit exists to serve its community,” said Patrick Battey, M.D., CEO of Piedmont Atlanta Hospital. “Homelessness is a societal issue and every group needs to do its part to help address it. We are glad to assist in this effort to serve patients who are experiencing homelessness.”
Piedmont Atlanta’s support of Project HEAL will help to provide on-site medical and mental health services and support the role of Project HEAL’s housing navigator, who currently works with Atlanta-area hospitals to identify available beds and appropriate placement.
Phase I of the project will create integrative care and permanent supportive housing at two Partners for HOME developments, Waterworks and 405 Cooper. Piedmont’s support also helps to add community-based recuperative and integrative care healthcare workers to support on-site in-home care minimizing recurrent hospitalizations and keeping those formerly homeless individuals healthy and productive.
“Piedmont’s impact of funding on-site medical and mental health services will significantly increase our ability to address the underlying causes of homelessness,” said Mark Holzberg, M.D., co-founder of Project HEAL along with Dr. Adam Leaderman. The goal of the program is to help individuals experiencing homelessness and facing hospital discharge to land in a warm bed and shelter rather than heading back to the street.
“We are thrilled to partner with Piedmont Atlanta Hospital to deliver the care our most vulnerable neighbors need to heal and thrive,” said Cathryn Vassell, CEO of Partners for HOME.