GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — More than 15,000 lower-income Gwinnett County residents will get help with rent, a first home or meals under a federally funded plan county commissioners approved.
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The county calls it the 2026 Action Plan. It directs more than $8.9 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development into 54 separate projects, and the county puts up none of its own money, according to officials.
“For a lot of the residents who will be receiving services or housing through these processes, every little bit helps,” said Matt Elder, deputy director of Gwinnett County Planning and Development.
The money arrives through three federal grants covering community development, affordable housing and homelessness. Elder called the homelessness grant the smallest of the three and the one that does the most.
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The housing piece pays for more than 90 new units, built through Gwinnett Housing Corporation and Habitat for Humanity.
“It’s going to be a mix of single family detached and some different kind of housing types that we haven’t seen a ton of before,” he said.
Elder said locations get drawn up after the federal money arrives and contracts are signed.
The plan also covers down payment help for 20 first-time buyers at $10,000 each, and rental assistance meant to keep more than 300 households from ever reaching eviction.
On the food side, $700,000 buys Norcross Meals on Wheels a new building. Elder said the expansion adds 125,000 meals a year and widens the area the group serves.
Another $1.5 million goes toward building a food pantry at Hamilton Mill.
“It’s not just talking points,” he said. “It’s about putting the money where we can to have the biggest impact.”
Elder said he expects federal approval within weeks.
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