South DeKalb YMCA is one of several local entities and projects receiving grant money via a funding package championed by Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04).
South DeKalb YMCA—which faced threats of closure in 2021 and just returned to hosting after-school programs in 2023—will receive the largest portion of the grant, with $4 million of the $15.8 million earmarked for the YMCA located on Snapfinger Road.
Other projects and groups receiving funding in DeKalb include:
• $850,000 for DeKalb County Line Park improvements.
• $500,000 to create a “DeKalb County Community Schoolyard” that can be accessed by children and families after school hours.
• $800,000 for Women’s Resource Center for Domestic Violence to use for housing projects for domestic violence survivors in DeKalb.
• $145,335 for increasing pedestrian and vehicular safety via the realignment of Chestnut at Buford Highway in Doraville.
• $850,000 for Kittredge Athletic Fields to replace its field and fencing and renovate other structures.
•$800,000 to assist with building the first phase of the North Fork Peachtree Creek Trail.
• $1,000,000 for DeKalb Peachtree Airport’s design and demolition of the administration building.
• $1,166,279 for MARTA’s Safe Routes to Transit Program to improve pedestrian and Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility at bus stops.
• $850,000 for top end I-285 Trail-Georgetown segment in Dunwoody.
A news release states that South DeKalb YMCA plans to use the funding to “narrow disparities across health, community, and economic prosperity and build a more equitable community.”
Johnson’s press release states that the project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because it helps restore the South DeKalb Family YMCA to a thriving community hub “which has historically served as a beacon for health, wellbeing, and community growth.”
In October, the facility relaunched the Y Explore Afterschool Program and Club and began providing additional…
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