Fulton County outlines ‘HHS South’ senior center, behavioral‑health access point for South Fulton

Fulton County officials told the South Fulton City Council on May 26 that they plan to build a county‑run Health and Human Services facility — HHS South — on county‑owned land across from the South Annex on Stonewall Tell that would house senior services, behavioral health programs and a Board of Health access point.

"HHS South will include a multipurpose senior center and an adult day health program, and will house behavioral‑health services for children and adults," Pamela Rochelle, chief operating officer for Fulton County, said during a work‑session presentation. Rochelle said services would operate Monday through Friday roughly 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and that transportation to the facility would be provided at no cost to constituents.

Rochelle stressed what the facility would not be: "this is not an emergency medical center. It is not crisis or walk‑in emergency service. It is not a homeless shelter or a residential inpatient facility," she said, adding that the site will provide preventive screenings, immunizations and a new vital records access point so residents would not have to travel downtown for birth certificates and other documents.

Council members asked how the center would work in practice. Mayor Pro Tem Keosha B. Bell asked whether the county’s mobile app will allow seniors to schedule appointments; Rochelle said the app is available now for service access but that county staff will assist residents by phone and participate in local town halls to explain and help schedule services. "If you have town halls and you would like for me to participate…I'm happy to do that," Rochelle said.

District 7 Councilwoman Linda B. Pritchett asked how many multipurpose facilities the county operates; Rochelle said Fulton has four larger multipurpose centers (Bowden, Darnell, Mills and Benson) and about 14 neighborhood centers and offered to provide a city‑by‑city breakdown of locations.

Councilman Aaron V. Johnson pressed on programming and space. Rochelle said HHS South will mirror typical multipurpose programming — arts, fitness, computer classes and wellness — as well as an adult day health component for frailer older adults. She estimated the building size at roughly 80,000 to 100,000 square feet and said programming specifics will be crafted with community input: "So it's not cookie cutter…we will come to city council, of course, the mayor, and craft programming specifically for what the residents would like to see."

Rochelle said the county board of commissioners will see plans at their second meeting in June and noted that, because the county plans to build the facility from the ground up, the project timeline is estimated at about three years from groundbreaking.

The presentation also described a separate co‑responder model in which trained clinicians would accompany sheriff’s deputies on behavioral‑health calls to connect people to care and divert them from jail when appropriate. Rochelle said participation in services at the HHS South facility would be voluntary except in cases where clinical assessment shows the person poses a threat to themselves or others.

The council welcomed the county’s offer to brief town halls and requested follow‑up information on service locations and the programming timeline.

The county provided a contact number for constituents seeking immediate information about existing senior services: (404) 613‑6000.