Message from the Director

2021: Human Services Department Accomplishments

The DeKalb Human Services Department continued to positively impact the lives of individuals and families in 2021, despite the ongoing challenges of the pandemic. Human Services has remained committed to the provision of quality programs, services and supports for the County’s most venerable populations.

Major Accomplishments for the Year Include:

• Hosted the County’s first “pop up” COVID vaccination clinic for seniors in partnership with the DeKalb Board of Health. Human Services received 1,300 registration requests for this event and 500 seniors were successfully vaccinated.
• Coordinated COVID vaccinations for home bound seniors in partnership with the DeKalb Board of Health & DeKalb Fire Rescue.
• Served more than 1,000 DeKalb students through a combination of virtual and in person programs and activities.
• Partnered with DeKalb Work Source and MARTA to implement a pilot youth entrepreneurial program (selling water and snacks) at the Indian Creek & Kensington stations.
• Continued our work with the DeKalb Youth Commission- mentoring and training upcoming leaders from seventeen DeKalb County High Schools.  Human Services also established a new partnership with Georgia State University, School of Social Work and collaborated with their graduate interns to develop new strategies for youth services.  In addition, the Department partnered with Morehouse College to enhance the mentorship components of our RISE UP Program. 
• Hosted the Department’s Virtual Village: Senior Center Without Walls, an online platform, with over 60 online classes. Students participated in 4,500 classroom hours and 50,000 visits to the website were recorded.  The Virtual Village: Senior Center Without Walls received national recognition from the National Association of Counties (NACO).
• Introduced the first outdoor classroom model for seniors at the Central DeKalb Senior Center, in which our seniors participated in the Ageless Grace wellness initiative- a highly effective brain fitness program.
• Received a $90,000 grant from the DeKalb Board of Health Department to assist with flu and COVID vaccination clinics through 2023.
• The Lou Walker Senior Center received national accreditation as a Senior Center of Excellence from the National Council of Aging.
• Provided 265,934 congregate and home delivered meals to seniors in 2021. In addition, the Department provided 36,881 case management hours to seniors.
• Provided 14,548 rides to seniors to their dialysis and medical appointments, to grocery stores, to get COVID vaccinations and COVID testing, to shopping facilities and other places within the community.
• Awarded fifty-three (53) grants in the amount $907, 452 to local non-profits to supplement their work within the community. The Department also partnered with our commissioners to support events around food insecurity, COVID vaccinations and school supply drives. 

The DeKalb Human Services Department has proven that we are ready for any challenge. We finished 2021 strong- with no gaps in our service delivery.  We continue to meet the needs of DeKalb’s citizens through this current year.

Damon Scott, Director
DeKalb Human Services Department