ATLANTA — Fulton County law enforcement officers and first responders will soon have a new option to address mental health and substance abuse calls.
The Fulton County Board of Commissioners adopted a resolution on Wednesday to create a diversion center in downtown Atlanta. The initiative will be a collaborative effort funded by both the city and county, according to the board's latest meeting minutes.
The Center for Diversion and Services is intended to help people with behavioral or mental health issues and provide coping and recovery resources.
According to initial plans, the facility will be an alternative option for law enforcement or emergency responders called to address people falling ill to substance abuse, experiencing extreme poverty or struggling with a mental health episode. Rather than taking individuals to the county jail or detention center, people can be treated or receive assistance at the center, according to a news release. The center could potentially alleviate hospital emergency rooms as well, board leaders said.
Plans revealed that the facility will have peer specialists to help with basic needs such as food and showers but will rely on partner agencies to provide robust services such as physical and mental health screenings, first aid, connections to housing and health care, officials said in the news release.
Grady Memorial Hospital and the Policing Alternatives and Diversion Program have agreed to help staff the facility. With their assistance, the initiative is expected to divert 41 people daily from the local jails, detention facilities and emergency rooms, according to the Fulton County Board of Commissioners.
"By introducing diversion services to this facility, we are helping those charged with minor, non-violent offenses access the resources they need to help turn their lives around. It is equity in action and another historic step in our vision for a more equitable Atlanta," Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said.
The center is scheduled to open in 2022, but leaders have not released a location. To learn more about the diversion center, click here.
