The Atlanta Citizen Review Board is an independent group that looks at complaints about Atlanta police and corrections officers. You can file a complaint, and some complaints can go to a free talk with the officer led by a neutral mediator. The board also shares information about your rights and visits events around the city.
Southern Center for Human Rights is a nonprofit law and advocacy group in Atlanta. It helps people affected by the criminal legal system in the Deep South by doing legal representation, lawsuits, policy advocacy, court watching, and public education.
Barred Business is a group started in 2020 by formerly incarcerated Black women.E. program for formerly incarcerated women and works on bail, voting rights and fair laws for people with records. People with records and their families can join as members.
The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute studies Georgia's state budget, taxes and public policy. It writes reports and analysis on topics like health care, education, jobs and the justice system. You can read its work online, and you can ask one of its experts to speak at your event or meeting.
Women on the Rise is led by women who have been in jail or prison. It helps women coming home with case management, monthly support circles, and links to housing, jobs and mental health care. It also organizes for fairer laws and helps people learn about their voting rights.
ACLU of Georgia is a statewide group that works to protect civil rights and freedoms. It files lawsuits, pushes for better laws, teaches people about their rights, and trains volunteers to watch elections and protests. It says it is generally not a legal aid office and cannot take most requests for individual legal help.
DBHDD is the State of Georgia agency for mental health, substance use, and developmental disability services. It runs a 24-hour crisis phone line and points people to crisis centers, local providers, and regional field offices. It also handles court-ordered forensic evaluations and runs transitional housing and deaf services.
youthSpark is an Atlanta nonprofit that helps teens who have been hurt, exploited, or are at risk. Its Youth Services Center offers case management, counseling, support groups, and help in court and at school for young people ages 12 to 18 in Fulton County. It also trains adults and groups to spot warning signs and speak up for youth.
Georgia Justice Project helps people in Georgia who have been affected by the criminal legal system. It offers free legal help, such as defense lawyers for some Fulton and DeKalb cases, record clearing, and help ending probation early. It also gives social service support and teaches the public about records, voting rights and work licenses. It cannot help everyone who applies.
PAD is an Atlanta nonprofit that offers help instead of police response or jail for people dealing with extreme poverty, substance use, or mental health problems. You can ask for a PAD team by calling 311. PAD also gives case management to people diverted by law enforcement or with open court cases.
The Martin Luther King Sr. Community Resources Collaborative is a community agency near Ebenezer Baptist Church. It puts several kinds of help for families in one place, such as job and money training, free tax help, housing classes and emergency help to stay housed. Its goal is to help families become self-sufficient.
SONG is a membership group for LGBTQ people across the South, with a focus on people of color, immigrants, rural people and working-class people. It runs organizing campaigns, member-led projects, working groups and gatherings. Members build skills and community together.
Atlanta Economic Justice is a local program of the American Friends Service Committee. It teaches organizing skills to grassroots groups and young leaders. It also backs campaigns for housing rights, safe renting and water rights in the Atlanta area.
Atlanta Community Support Project is a group run by people who have been affected by the criminal legal system. It holds trainings and community events. It also connects volunteer lawyers with jailhouse lawyers to work on parole and post-conviction cases in Georgia.
GCADV is Georgia's statewide group for domestic violence help. It runs a free hotline that is open all day and night, and it works with more than 50 local programs across the state. It also trains those programs, helps Deaf and hard of hearing survivors, and works to change laws that affect survivors.
Black Voters Matter is a Black-led group that builds political power in Black communities. It works with local groups, runs one-day warrant clinics with a partner, and leads campaigns on health care, young leaders and more. Volunteers can help by texting, writing postcards and joining events.
Open Door Community is a Christian justice community that began in Atlanta and now has headquarters in Baltimore. They no longer provide street hospitality in Atlanta, but they publish Hospitality, support people in prison, and advocate against poverty, racism, sexism, anti-LGBTQ bias, and the death penalty.
Georgia Innocence Project is a nonprofit law firm that helps people convicted in Georgia of serious crimes they say they did not commit. They review written requests, investigate strong innocence claims, provide free legal representation in some post-conviction cases, and support people after they are freed.
The Atlanta Alliance is the Atlanta branch of a national group that works against racism and police violence. It is working to close Fulton County Jail and end cash bail there. It holds regular Tuesday evening meetings and stands with families of people killed by police or who died in jail.
GEMA/HS is Georgia's state agency for getting ready for, responding to, and recovering from disasters. Most of its help goes to local governments, agencies, schools, and nonprofits through grants and training. It also runs a case management program for Hurricane Helene survivors, shares FEMA sign-up steps after major federal disasters, and offers the Ready Georgia preparedness campaign and a suspicious-activity reporting app.
