197 organizations
How disability services work in Georgia
Two honest truths up front: real help exists, and the waits for some of it are long — so start applications early and use the faster doors meanwhile.
Independent living: centers like disABILITY LINK in Atlanta are run by and for people with disabilities — practical help with housing searches, benefits, equipment, and peer support, usually free and without waitlists. Home- and community-based waivers (NOW/COMP for developmental disabilities, others for physical) pay for real support at home, but Georgia's waitlists run years — apply now regardless. Income: SSI/SSDI denials are normal the first time; appeal, and get a disability attorney — they only get paid if you win, from back pay.
What to expect when you call: be ready to describe daily-life impact ("I can't stand long enough to cook"), not just diagnoses — services are matched to function, and plain descriptions work best.
The Nehemiah Project Community Development Corporation is a Fairburn-based nonprofit that helps low-income seniors, veterans, and disabled homeowners across Metro Atlanta stay safely in their homes. They provide free critical home repairs—like fixing roofs, plumbing, electrical, and HVAC, plus safety upgrades like grab bars and wheelchair ramps—so people can age in place with dignity. They also work on neighborhood revitalization and water-conservation plumbing repairs.
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Blackyard Chickenz, run by Reec Swiney through the nonprofit Positive American Youth and Swiney Farms, is a small farm and licensed farm-animal rescue that teaches kids and families about raising chickens and other animals. They bring rescued animals to schools, host a petting zoo and learning center, and run sensory programs for children with autism or learning disabilities and healing programs for veterans with PTSD. They also sell pasture-raised eggs and baby farm animals.
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House Proud Atlanta is a nonprofit that makes free, no-cost home repairs for low-income seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities who own their homes. They fix things like roofs, heating and cooling units, porches, wheelchair ramps, and handrails so people can stay safely in their homes. The work is done by licensed contractors and volunteers at no charge to the homeowner.
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DBHDD is Georgia's state agency that helps people with mental health challenges, substance use problems, and intellectual or developmental disabilities. It runs the free 24/7 Georgia Crisis and Access Line (1-800-715-4225, also reachable by calling or texting 988) and pays for community-based treatment and home-based supports through contracted providers across the state, including the NOW and COMP Medicaid waivers.
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DBHDD is Georgia's state agency that runs mental health, substance use, and developmental disability services across the state. It runs the free 24/7 Georgia Crisis and Access Line (call or text), and it manages the NOW and COMP Medicaid waivers that pay for home- and community-based support for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities. You contact them to get into a crisis line, find a local provider, or apply for disability waiver services.
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Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) helps veterans who have a spinal cord injury or disease, MS, or ALS. Their service officers help veterans, dependents, and survivors file for VA benefits and appeal denied claims for free, and the chapter also offers job help, disability rights advocacy, and adaptive sports. The benefits office is located inside the Atlanta VA Regional Office in Decatur.
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This is the Augusta Spinal Cord Injury & Disorders (SCI/D) Center at the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center, one of the VA's national centers for veterans with spinal cord injuries or disorders. They provide lifelong, coordinated care including rehabilitation, an inpatient SCI unit, primary care, mental health support, and specialty clinics. Special services include an assistive technology lab, driver training, aquatic therapy, adaptive sports, vocational rehab, and a seating and mobility clinic. Note: this center is in Augusta, GA, about 2.5 hours east of Atlanta.
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The phone number and address on file reach ONE Community Health Solution, the Douglas County Community Service Board, which is the local agency that delivers Georgia DBHDD's Family Support Services. Family Support Services helps families caring for a loved one with an intellectual or developmental disability at home by arranging things like respite care, equipment, family education, and help finding other services. The same office also offers outpatient mental health care, substance use treatment, supported employment, and a pharmacy.
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ISDD (Innovative Solutions for Disadvantage & Disability) helps grandparents and other relatives who are raising children, especially children with disabilities or special health needs. Their main program, Project GRANDD, offers free support groups, one-on-one case management, help with school plans (IEP/504) and legal guardianship, tutoring, respite care, and limited food and clothing assistance. The goal is to keep kids out of foster care by supporting the family members already caring for them.
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DBHDD's Family Support Services is a state program that helps Georgians with an intellectual or developmental disability (such as autism, cerebral palsy, or Down syndrome) keep living at home with their families. A Family Support Coordinator helps each family make a plan and connects them to things like respite care, family education, and special equipment. It is for families who do not get a NOW or COMP Medicaid Waiver.
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DBHDD's Family Support Services is a Georgia state program that helps people with developmental disabilities (like autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, or intellectual disability) keep living at home with their families. It does not give a set list of benefits — instead a Family Support Coordinator works with each family to find what they need, such as respite care, family education, recreation, special medical equipment, and help getting other benefits. You apply through a local community-based provider in your county.
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Family Support Services is a Georgia state program (run by DBHDD) that helps families who care for a loved one with an intellectual or developmental disability at home, such as autism, cerebral palsy, or Down syndrome. A Family Support Coordinator works with each family to build a plan that can include respite care, referrals, family education, social and recreational activities, and help finding medical equipment. It is for people who do not already get NOW/COMP Waiver services, and you apply through a local community provider.
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Fulton County BHDD is the county's public agency for mental health, addiction, and developmental disability services, and it serves all county residents no matter their ability to pay. They offer free or sliding-scale therapy, psychiatric care, crisis help, substance use treatment, peer support, and services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Services are spread across several centers in Atlanta, Sandy Springs, College Park, and Alpharetta, with the main adult clinic at 265 Boulevard NE.
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DBHDD's Family Support Services helps Georgia families who care for a loved one with an intellectual or developmental disability (like autism, Down syndrome, or cerebral palsy) at home. It is a state program that connects families to things like respite care, family training, special equipment, and help finding other services so they can keep their family together. It is for people who do not already get a NOW or COMP Medicaid waiver.
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This is Fulton County's public behavioral health agency. They offer counseling, therapy, psychiatric care, substance use treatment, and crisis help for kids, teens, and adults, plus day programs for people with developmental disabilities. They serve both insured and uninsured residents at clinics across the county.
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This is the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which helps veterans with a service-connected disability pay to buy, build, or modify a home so they can live more independently. Through Specially Adapted Housing (SAH), Special Home Adaptation (SHA), and Temporary Residence Adaptation (TRA) grants, the VA can cover things like wheelchair ramps, widened doorways, and roll-in showers. The Atlanta Regional Office at 1700 Clairmont Road in Decatur helps local veterans apply for these and other VA benefits.
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The Deaf Hotline (the National Deaf Domestic Violence Hotline) is a 24/7 hotline run in ASL for Deaf, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled, and hard-of-hearing survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Trained Deaf advocates answer videophone calls, live chat, and email any time, offering crisis support, safety planning, and referrals. It is a national service you can reach from anywhere, including Atlanta.
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This is Fulton County's government department that provides mental health, substance use, and developmental disability services to local residents, no matter their income or insurance. They run a 24/7 walk-in crisis center, outpatient counseling clinics for adults and kids, addiction help, and day programs for people with developmental disabilities. Care is open to everyone in Fulton County, including people who are uninsured.
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Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) has a National Service Office at the Atlanta VA in Decatur that helps veterans with disabilities — especially spinal cord injury, MS, and ALS — get the VA benefits they earned. Their accredited service officers help you file claims, fight denials, and access health care, prosthetics, home modifications, and disability ratings, all for free. They also run a free career program that helps veterans, transitioning service members, and spouses find jobs.
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The VA's Parkinson's Disease Research, Education and Clinical Centers (PADRECC) is a national VA program that gives veterans with Parkinson's disease and other movement disorders specialized care, including doctors, medicine, physical and speech therapy, and deep brain stimulation. Georgia and Atlanta-area veterans are served through the Southeast (Richmond) center and a local Parkinson's consortium clinic at the Joseph Maxwell Cleland Atlanta VA Medical Center in Decatur. You must be enrolled in VA health care and get a referral from your VA provider to use it.
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