{"id":711703,"date":"2026-06-03T06:33:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T06:33:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/711703\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T06:33:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T06:33:10","slug":"atlanta-takes-steps-to-reduce-number-of-arrests-linked-to-mental-health-challenges-wsb-tv-channel-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/711703\/","title":{"rendered":"Atlanta takes steps to reduce number of arrests linked to mental health challenges \u2013 WSB-TV Channel 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

ATLANTA \u2014 The City of Atlanta announced a partnership with Grady Health System and community organizations to reduce arrests linked to non-violent, mental health challenges and incidents.<\/p>\n

According to the Atlanta Police Department, the city will continue operating the Center for Diversion and Services alongside Grady Health.<\/p>\n

The CDS is focused on reducing arrests related to non-violent offenders, mental health challenges, substance use, homelessness and extreme poverty.<\/p>\n

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks<\/a>]<\/p>\n

In May, APD said 15 individuals were diverted from arrets to immediate care and long-term support services.<\/p>\n

The news comes in the wake of the latest Point in Time count results in Atlanta.<\/p>\n

Partners for Home, the city\u2019s partner for homelessness response and prevention, told Channel 2\u2019s Eryn Rogers<\/a> that the number of people experiencing homelessness in the city had gone up 6%.<\/p>\n

TRENDING STORIES:<\/p>\n

\u201cAny increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness is concerning to us,\u201d Cathryn Vassell, CEO of Partners for Home, told Rogers last week.<\/p>\n

The most recent PIT count found at least 3,060 people were experiencing homelessness this year. <\/p>\n

The increase follows a 1% rise from 2024 to 2025.<\/p>\n

The number of people experiencing homelessness increased ahead of the FIFA World Cup\u2019s arrival in Atlanta.<\/p>\n

For Atlantans experiencing challenges from housing, to poverty, to mental health issues, diversion is a way to stay out of the criminal justice system and get the help they need.<\/p>\n

According to Atlanta police, the following people are eligible for diversion and assistance, though being diverted instead of arrested comes at the officer\u2019s discretion.<\/p>\n

Are 18 years or olderAre involved in a non-violent offenseHave no outstanding warrantsVoluntarily agree to participate<\/p>\n

\u201cThe center provides immediate stabilization and assessment, along with direct connections to treatment, housing resources, and other supportive services,\u201d APD said. \u201cOnce a participant is transferred, CDS assumes responsibility for their care.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u00a92026 Cox Media Group<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ATLANTA \u2014 The City of Atlanta announced a partnership with Grady Health System and community organizations to reduce…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":711704,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[258217,49,48,37914,258216,14990,84,393,394,258215,258214],"class_list":["post-711703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-atlanta-police","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cds","tag-diversion-programs-atlanta","tag-fifa-world-cup","tag-health","tag-mental-health","tag-mentalhealth","tag-partners-for-home","tag-point-in-time-count"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=711703"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711703\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/711704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=711703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=711703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=711703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}