{"id":1005725,"date":"2026-06-04T22:19:27","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T22:19:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1005725\/"},"modified":"2026-06-04T22:19:27","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T22:19:27","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.europesays.com\/uk\/1005725\/","title":{"rendered":"Atlanta takes steps to reduce number of arrests linked to mental health challenges \u2013 WSB-TV Channel 2"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">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<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">According to the Atlanta Police Department, the city will continue operating the Center for Diversion and Services alongside Grady Health.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">The CDS is focused on reducing arrests related to non-violent offenders, mental health challenges, substance use, homelessness and extreme poverty.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\"><b>[DOWNLOAD: <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsbtv.com\/smart-tv\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks<\/b><\/a><b>]<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">In May, APD said 15 individuals were diverted from arrets to immediate care and long-term support services.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">The news comes in the wake of the latest Point in Time count results in Atlanta.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">Partners for Home, the city\u2019s partner for homelessness response and prevention, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsbtv.com\/news\/local\/atlanta\/homelessness-atlanta-rises-6-advocates-work-expand-housing-options\/UCQVUUG3ENBC7LLZKARSBSQCXA\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.wsbtv.com\/news\/local\/atlanta\/homelessness-atlanta-rises-6-advocates-work-expand-housing-options\/UCQVUUG3ENBC7LLZKARSBSQCXA\/\">told <b>Channel 2\u2019s Eryn Rogers<\/b><\/a><b> <\/b>that the number of people experiencing homelessness in the city had gone up 6%.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\"><b>TRENDING STORIES:<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">\u201cAny increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness is concerning to us,\u201d Cathryn Vassell, CEO of Partners for Home, told Rogers<b> <\/b>last week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">The most recent PIT count found at least 3,060 people were experiencing homelessness this year. <\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">The increase follows a 1% rise from 2024 to 2025.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">The number of people experiencing homelessness increased ahead of the FIFA World Cup\u2019s arrival in Atlanta.<\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">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<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">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<ul>\n<li>Are 18 years or older<\/li>\n<li>Are involved in a non-violent offense<\/li>\n<li>Have no outstanding warrants<\/li>\n<li>Voluntarily agree to participate<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\">\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<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph\"><b>[SIGN UP: <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/membercenter.wsbtv.com\/newsletters\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><b>WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter<\/b><\/a><b>]<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"default__StyledText-sc-tl066j-0 gJuxXh body-paragraph body-copyright\">\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&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1005726,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4317],"tags":[278702,96763,278701,19560,105,218,278700,278699,16,15],"class_list":["post-1005725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-atlanta-police","tag-cds","tag-diversion-programs-atlanta","tag-fifa-world-cup","tag-health","tag-mental-health","tag-partners-for-home","tag-point-in-time-count","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116694166279608405","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1005725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1005725"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1005725\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1005726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1005725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1005725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1005725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}