“The food banks are responding to an unrelenting 50% increase in demand for food,” said Danah Craft, executive director of the Georgia Food Bank Association, which works with food banks around the state. “And it has grown in the last 60 days.” About 40% of the people coming for help now have never had to look for support before, she said. (WABE)
Real-Time Insights
The only way to understand and plan for our most critical and emerging issues is to keep each other informed. Send insights to tpearce@atlantaregional.org.
According to a regional tracker, the percent of telehealth diagnoses for mental health conditions is more than three times higher than the same time last year, likely due to both increased demand for MH services and increased supply/accessibility of telehealth options. (FAIR Health)
“There has been speculation this year that more office tenants will increase their office space to promote social distancing. [Cushman & Wakefield Head of Economic Analysis & Forecasting Rebecca] Rockey said she doesn’t agree with that point of view and that Cushman & Wakefield doesn’t have any evidence that upsizing is being driven by social distancing measures.” (Bisnow)
The latest State of Education in Metro Atlanta report provides updates on key education indicators. Kindergarten readiness, 3rd grade reading, 8th grade math, and high school graduation are up. Postsecondary enrollment and completion are down. Learn more in the report and webinar. And view school level data in the interactive dashboard. (Learn4Life)
Before he pandemic, Georgia commuters worked an average of 0.8 days per week from home. By April, that number reached 4.6 days, and remained at 4.4 through October. The latest survey results from Georgia Commute Options show a desired future of 3.2 remote days per week, with most executives anticipating changes in this direction. [webinars] (Georgia Commute Options)
Under the new presidency, refugee resettlement is expected to surge—from 15,000 to as much as 125,000 globally. Resettlement agencies in Atlanta are collaborating to best serve their clients while understanding and meeting demand for employment, housing, health, and other services. [link] (WABE)
Georgia now ranks last in access to mental health services. This lack of access also means that any estimates of demand for mental health services are likely undervalued. (Mental Health America)
Tennessee hospitals are seeing significantly fewer covid patients from counties with mask mandates [study] (Vanderbilt School of Medicine)
A large share of low-income clients are parents — especially moms — with school-age kids having incredible difficulty finding jobs that allow working from home. Unclear return-to-school plans and timing add to job search barriers. (Family Advancement Ministries)
The Hispanic community has particular physical health, mental health, and economic risks due to low access to healthcare, increased exposure, and stigma. Affordable and quality programs designed with this community are needed. [PDF] (American Psychiatric Association)
Among immigrant-serving organizations, civic engagement focuses during and beyond the pandemic include: (1) supporting the wellbeing of community leaders and volunteer-led organizations, (2) strengthening community networks for mutual aid, (3) civic education, including redistricting, (4) ensuring comprehensive and standard language access policies for all Georgia districts. (LCF)
“Patients who were hospitalized with COVID-19 and who had been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder had a 1.5-fold increased risk for a COVID-related death” [study] (Mental Health America of Georgia)
A lack of publicly accessible and detailed cradle-to-career pipeline data from state agencies (e.g., CAPS, CTAE eligibility and enrollment by race, geography, industry and otherwise) makes decision-making, planning, and evaluation around equity nearly impossible. (Metro Atlanta Chamber)
Agencies working with immigrants and/or addressing immigration-related issues (DACA, TPS, increased detentions, etc) are currently conducting scenario planning connected November election results. (LCF)
Designing and offering structure/processes for students to address academic, engagement, and/or campus life issues is generating nuanced and successful solutions. (Emory University, The Hatchery)
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Domestic violence shelters are dealing with significantly higher demand by housing clients in hotels. However, as hotels are exempt from the national eviction moratorium, clients continue to experience evictions. (DV shelter outside Metro Atlanta)
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62% of Black-owned businesses are not prepared to go more than 3-4 weeks without revenue. 96% of Black-owned businesses are sole proprietorships with either 1099 contractors or no other staff, limiting the available support they qualify for. [webinar] (Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative)
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Spending monthly what they used to spend annually on purchasing food (12x increase in demand). Using 1/3 typical number of volunteers. (Intown Collaborative Ministries)
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Undocumented and mixed status households don’t qualify for federal aid including City of Atlanta/United Way eviction relief program (Latino Community Fund Georgia)
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“The rapid adoption of remote work and automation could accelerate inequalities in place for decades. Economists say the resulting ‘K’ shaped recovery will be good for professionals—and bad for everyone else.” [article] (Wall Street Journal)
