Atlanta Regional Commission staff recently provided Cobb County Government with $477,399 as part of the CARES Act.
This federal funding will allow Cobb officials to meet the critical needs of older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a county news release.
The funding will enable ARC to expand the number of people receiving services through its partners in several key areas:
- Social services and wellness support, including a new service providing emergency aid for materials such as groceries, personal care items and technological tools that help people to perform daily activities.
- Nutrition services such as home-delivered meals and food boxes.
In the last fiscal year, ARC’s county and nonprofit partners served 137,386 individuals.
The new funding allows for a 22 percent increase in funding for aging services and will help meet the increased critical needs of older people during the pandemic.
ARC also will use these federal funds to expand some of the services the agency provides directly, including coaching for individuals living in affordable housing with behavioral health needs and the launch of a volunteer-staffed telephone reassurance program to combat social isolation.
ARC’s Empowerline provides trained phone and online counselors, who continue to help older individuals and their caregivers get their needs met, at 404-463-3333 and empowerline.org.
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