Atlanta introduces first-of-its-kind diversion center to help people in crisis avoid jail time

The Policing Alternatives and Diversion Initiative, or PAD, said this will be the first time there’s a sobering center in Atlanta since before the 1996 Olympics.

The organization launched its own pre-arrest diversion mobile response in 2017. The following year, the Fulton County Justice and Mental Health Taskforce recommended a physical location