The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Pandemic needs prompt more health, social services
Budget, staffing and community program facilities will expand.
Gwinnett County will dedicate more than $55 million in federal pandemic recovery funds this year to expand the Health and Human Services division.
The division, largely funded through the Atlanta Regional Commission, runs four senior centers in the county and three “Onestop” facilities that provide community programs such as English and exercise classes. But as the coronavirus pandemic spread two years ago, county leaders saw more critical needs for the division to tackle.
More residents were losing jobs and experiencing homelessness and food insecurity, County Commission Chairwoman Nicole Love Hendrickson said.
“The pandemic really has pulled (back) the curtain on
these issues,” she said. “It was our responsibility to step in and step up.”
The county commission budgeted $30 million for a new Onestop facility that will pro
vide an array of services, including public health, literacy programs and assistance for veterans, Hendrickson said. Called Onestop Gwinnett, it will be located somewhere near the county’s geographic center, a larger version of the satellite facilities in Buford, Centerville and Norcross, she said.
The new facility will house nonprofits and other agencies the county subsidizes, Hendrickson said. It will serve as an initial point of contact for residents to get consultation on additional resources they might need.
It’s not yet clear whether the county will build Onestop Gwinnett from the ground up or acquire an existing facility, she said.
Another $25 million will expand Onestop Centerville and add space there for some of the county’s partner organizations. The Gwinnett health department will give shots and screenings, View Point Health can provide mental health counseling, and Head Start classrooms will
operate in the expanded space, said Mary Arthur, the program specialist overseeing the facility. A playground will be installed on the lawn.
The county also increased HHS’ operations and staffing budget by more than $368,000, Hendrickson said. Much of the increase will go to pay new “community nav
igators,” trained social workers who help residents with hunger, health, housing and other emergency needs. The budget increase will also pay stipends to volunteers at overnight warming shelters, a program that expanded this winter.
Hendrickson said the county is hoping to activate a short number, similar to 311 in Atlanta, that people could call for access to social services if they’re unable to visit a Onestop facility or request help online.
Regina Miller, who oversees Gwinnett HHS as the county’s deputy director of community services, expects a groundbreaking next year for the Onestop Centerville expansion.
A future expansion, not yet budgeted, will connect Onestop Centerville to the senior center next door. Many seniors spend long hours at the center, placing them in convenient proximity to the health department and other services that will operate there, Arthur said.
Games of bingo, cards and pool took hold Thursday afternoon at the senior center.
“We come here because we enjoy each other’s company,” Christine Hallums, 77, said over a hand of bid whist with women raging in age from 68 to 91.
Miller hopes the Onestop facilities can eventually remain open around the clock, as police and fire stations do, for people in need.
“That’s what we’re trying to do is reflect that same kind of service,” she said.