The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will funnel more than $11 million in new emergency housing vouchers to public agencies across Georgia, with roughly $1.4 million going to Atlanta Housing (AH), the city’s housing authority, officials announced Tuesday. 

The vouchers, funded by Congress’ $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, will also help low-income households in Augusta, Savannah, Columbus, Macon, Marietta, Albany, Americus, Jonesboro and Decatur, according to a press release from U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock’s (D-Ga.) office. 

A table shows how much each jurisdiction will receive.

AH will receive the largest amount of any local jurisdiction, with DeKalb County’s housing authority claiming the second most — $965,808 worth of vouchers.

Fulton County, the state’s most populous — Atlanta houses almost half of the county’s nearly 1.1 million people — will claim $206,244 in vouchers. 

“We cannot underestimate the importance of stable, secure housing to maintaining the health and safety of families and communities in our state, especially as we begin to overcome this once-in-a-century pandemic that’s only heightened housing disparities,” Warnock said, per the release. 

U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) echoed that sentiment: “The COVID-19 pandemic intensified the challenges that too many Georgians face every day, like finding and maintaining safe, affordable housing,” he said, according to the release. “The American Rescue Plan is delivering this crucial funding to help Georgians who need it most.”

AH CEO Eugene Jones, in a statement sent to Atlanta Civic Circle, said, “I’d like to thank our senators for sending emergency housing funding to Georgia. We will ensure it is spent to secure housing for Atlantans who were heavily impacted by the pandemic.”

Jones and AH officials did not immediately respond to Atlanta Civic Circle’s questions regarding how many residents these vouchers could help, or how the agency will determine who receives them. 

This story is developing and will be updated as more information is provided. 

(Header image, via Samuel Schroth, Unsplash: The U.S. Capitol Building.)