FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Fulton County is the hardest hit by coronavirus in the state right now with the most confirmed cases in Georgia.
County leaders are now rushing to test more people, while also helping those feeling the financial pain.
Channel 2′s Sophia Choi learned Monday that Fulton County residents will get $10 million in help.
The money will go to companies that help seniors, the homeless and small businesses. The money is allocated to feed the most vulnerable and help with rent, mortgages, and even utilities.
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Choi talked to Robb Pitts, Fulton County Commission chair, about where the relief money is going.
"We are working with a group called Ace that is helping us vet the small businesses that need assistance," Pitts said. "They will be getting about a million and a half dollars."
Nonprofits like the Midtown Assistance Center and the Buckhead Christian Ministry said they have been inundated with people needing help.
"From March the 2nd to March 28th, we pulled our call logs and we had a 120,000 calls," Keeva Kase with Buckhead Christian Ministry said. "That amounts to about 5,000 calls a day."
Part of the $10 million will go to Mercy Care, a nonprofit that will work with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to test for COVID-19 in homeless shelters.
Tom Andrews, the CEO of Mercy Care, said 1,300 homeless people across six shelters will be tested in the next two weeks.
Pitts said some 900 employees who are currently sheltering at home may be called back to work to help volunteer organizations getting some of the money.
"We will be reassigning them to areas where there’s a need," Pitts said.
Pitts said they scoured the budget to look for the money. He said if this health crisis keeps lingering, the county budget could really suffer.
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