Congresswoman Nikema Williams Secures $12.5 Million in Community Project Funding for Georgia’s Fifth Congressional District

(ATLANTA) – Today, Congresswoman Nikema Williams (GA-05) announced she secured $12,461,365 in funding for 14 Community Project Funding Requests. 

Congresswoman Nikema Williams (GA-05) said: 

“I will always put the people of Georgia’s Fifth Congressional District First. That’s why I secured funding for 14 transformative projects that invest in people throughout the District. This $12.5 million direct investment in our communities will accelerate economic growth, honor our civil rights legacy, put food on dinner tables, and create safer neighborhoods. I will continue to secure every resource available for the people I serve so everyone in the Fifth District can thrive—no matter your ZIP Code, no matter your bank account.”

The 14 projects funded by Congresswoman Williams are: 

• $500,000 for the South Moreland Avenue Working Group’s A Safer Moreland Avenue initiative. The South Moreland Avenue Working Group’s goal is to make Moreland Avenue safer for pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles and this project would address some of the most urgent safety improvements along Moreland Ave.
• $850,000 for Atlanta Community Food Bank Trucks to Serve Our Community. This project will fund the Atlanta Community Food Bank’s (ACFB) purchase of four tractor trailers and six box trucks for the transport of nutritious food and grocery items.
• $963,000 for the Center for Civic Innovation Atlanta Safety and Justice Accelerator. The Atlanta Safety and Justice Accelerator is a multi-month training program for leaders of community violence intervention programs (CVI), and hospital-based violence intervention programs (HVI) that address community violence in Atlanta. The goals of the program are to build a clear model for their intervention, evaluate and measure the effectiveness of their interventions, advocate to key government officials and institutions and, fundraise for their growth and sustainability.
• $630,000 for Clark Atlanta University Public Safety Improvements. This project would help Clark Atlanta University create a safe campus environment that meets the needs of its students and the broader campus community. By funding an upgrade of the campus’ security camera system along with a video integration communication center and fusion platform to ensure the system’s effective operation, this project will support the safety and security of the CAU community and the operations of the CAU Department of Public Safety. The project would also enable CAU to replace emergency call boxes across campus, further enhancing the security of the community.
• $1,636,000 for expanding access to the Andrew Young Center’s Higher Education in Prisons Initiative at Morehouse College. The Higher Education in Prisons Program, implemented by Morehouse College’s Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership (AYC) will educate, rehabilitate, and prepare incarcerated students to join the workforce and become contributing members of society. Currently, the Morehouse College AYC-Higher Education in Prisons Program provides college-level courses primarily but not exclusively to incarcerated men in Georgia prisons. With this project funding, the Morehouse College AYC-Higher Education in Prisons Program will grow to serve approximately 200 incarcerated students annually, expand academic offerings from two courses to eight courses each semester and establish a Prison Education Ambassadors Program to include 12 Morehouse students who will conduct research and provide peer mentoring to incarcerated and formerly incarcerated students. 
• $1,000,000 for the Fulton County Back on Track Campus. Fulton County seeks to renovate an existing facility to serve as the new Fulton County Back on Track Campus. This space will provide community-based intervention services for qualifying nonviolent offenders and individuals who have experienced involvement with the justice system but are working toward a better life.
• $1,016,086 for Sweet Auburn Works and Heroes Walk: Promoting Economic Development through Pedestrian Infrastructure in Atlanta’s Sweet Auburn. The 1.1-mile Heroes Walk placemaking initiative will weave together a system of existing multi-use trails and points of interest, along with less activated parts of Atlanta’s urban core. More than one million annual visitors come to the King Historical Park alone, but few travel deeper into the Sweet Auburn neighborhood to dine, shop, or explore.
• $1,666,279 for Quality Living Services Gardens Renovation Project. The QLS Gardens Renovation Project will provide critical renovation and repairs to 11 buildings (which consists of 202 apartments), at the QLS Gardens affordable housing complex. These repairs will ensure that QLS Gardens can provide a safe, supportive, and affordable community for Atlanta’s most vulnerable residents for years to come.
• $500,000 for restoration of Historic Fire Station 16 in Atlanta. This project will fund the total restoration of historical Fire Station #16 in the Vine City/English Avenue community of Atlanta, which housed the first team of black firefighters in 1963 and then 15 years later housed the first black firewomen. The station is in need of substantial renovations, not only to preserve the legacy of the groundbreaking firefighters, but to continue to serve as a functioning fire station, as it has far exceeded its fire industry lifetime. 
• $1,000,000 for revitalization of the Historic Phyllis Wheatley Westside YWCA Atlanta. This project will renovate and invigorate the 22,000-square-foot historic Phyllis Wheatley Westside YWCA so that it can reopen and reclaim its prominence as a compassionate community center for women and their children, providing vital programs and resources to empower women into new careers, jobs, and opportunities. This facility has been dormant since 2015 and this project would fund critical foundational and structural construction and renovation work to set the stage for the building to reopen and once again serve the historic community of Atlanta’s Westside.
• $850,000 for the Silver Comet Intown Connector. The Silver Comet Intown Connector is a three-mile multi-use path in northwest Atlanta which connects the Silver Comet Trail to the Atlanta BeltLine, two regional trails with nearly 4 million combined annual users. This project creates economic and recreational opportunities for residents and businesses to connect from Downtown Atlanta to Alabama (via Whetstone Creek/Silver Comet).
• $500,000 for FCS Urban Ministries and Thriving Neighborhoods for Economic Interdependence. The Purpose Built Atlanta Alliance, which includes Focused Community Strategies (FCS), the East Lake Foundation, and the Grove Park Foundation, strives to foster thriving mixed-income neighborhoods in Historic South Atlanta, East Lake, Grove Park, and adjacent communities that share similar challenges. The majority of funds will be used to acquire land before investors or market forces drive prices out of reach, and construct housing that ensures long-term affordability. Additional funds will be used for home maintenance or repair projects for low-income households.
• $500,000 for transportation needs for Boys & Girls Clubs located in Georgia’s Fifth Congressional District. This program would fund a new fleet of 11 15-passenger buses, which will not only serve youth now, but for many years to come. The current fleet is aging rapidly, and an investment in new buses is truly an investment in youth, families, and future generations. Buses are used to transport youth from school to the Clubs in the Fifth Congressional District, for field trips, and to college and employer site visits. 
• $850,000 for the Urban League of Greater Atlanta’s Financial Empowerment Center at Heritage Village in Fulton County. This project funding will fund part of the effort to convert the former US Atlanta Job Corps Site into mixed-use permanent supportive, affordable housing units. Residents will have access to on-site economic mobility wraparound services inclusive of job training/workforce development, healthcare, a community wellness center, and other community learning and collaborative facilities, support services, like mental health care and substance abuse services. This project would allow the Urban League of Greater Atlanta to cover half the cost for the new Financial Empowerment Center and other community empowerment components.

Click here for more information about Congresswoman Williams’ FY24 Community Project Funding Requests.

CONTACT: PressGA05@mail.house.gov 

Congresswoman Nikema Williams proudly serves Georgia’s Fifth Congressional District on the exclusive Financial Services Committee. She is a champion of voting rights and builds on the Fifth District’s legacy as the cradle of the civil rights movement as co-chair of the Congressional Voting Rights Caucus. Congresswoman Williams is committed to closing the racial wealth gap and ensuring the promise of America for all–regardless of your ZIP code or bank account.

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