ATLANTA – It is one of America’s greatest travesties: the expansion of that ravenous monstrosity known as the prison-industrial complex that has devoured millions of lives, particularly in the past 25 years since the Clinton Administration, and mostly impacting people of color. Worse, the process of acclimating inmates back into society has been an exercise in sheer ridiculousness and futility, causing the rate of recidivism to remain needlessly high, and therefore continuing to feed the prison beast.
Thankfully, there is national, state and local momentum building to restructure — or completely overhaul — the way the reentry program is run.
The City of Atlanta Department of Corrections (DOC) today announced that it has been awarded a $600K Second Chance Act Reentry Grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. The grant will be used to assist medium to high-risk incarcerated male inmates with co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders in the Atlanta City Detention Center.
The Second Chance Act Reentry program will provide inmates tools for positive, healthy and successful reentry into the community through the Detention Center’s new Atlanta Reentry and Treatment (ART) initiative.
“As the Atlanta City Detention Center continues to see more inmates with both mental and substance abuse disorders, we felt it was critical that we create an in-house therapeutic community to specifically address their needs,” said Chief Patrick Labat, Atlanta Department of Corrections.
“Our goal for the ART initiative is to be a successful example of an institution of opportunity where inmates can be holistically rehabilitated and equipped with the necessary tools and resources to reintegrate themselves back into society as productive, law-abiding citizens.”
The ART initiative will enhance and expand programming within the City’s adult detention facility by initiating a comprehensive service approach. This initiative also partners with community-based clinicians who will deliver treatment aimed at assisting co-occurring disorders and criminal behaviors.
The ART initiative addresses key mental health wellness priorities that include:
• Targeting moderate to high-risk male inmates that are experiencing or are at risk for chronic homelessness.
• Linking clients to affordable and supportive housing.
• Focus on community-based programs that provide evidence-based treatment services for individuals with co-occurring disorders upon release from the Detention Center.
The grant will cover costs associated with establishing a dedicated housing unit at the Detention Center that serves up to 12 inmates at a time, as well as staffing for the specialized unit. The first six months of the grant will focus on planning and the remaining 18-month period is for implementation of the ART initiative.
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