A pre-arrest diversion center — designed to keep people out of the notoriously overcrowded Fulton County Jail for nonviolent and minor offenses — is now open 24 hours, seven days a week in Atlanta.
The Center for Diversion and Services is located within the city’s detention center and will provide resources related to mental health, substance use and extreme poverty, including immediate help and connection to long-term support. Officials opened the center at a ceremony on Monday.
“This is a very, very critical turning point in addressing public safety in Atlanta,” Mayor Andre Dickens said. “It’s our responsibility to stand in the gap for Atlanta and metro Atlanta’s most vulnerable residents.”
Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution