Coming home from prison or jail

Georgia Justice Project is a nonprofit that gives free legal help to people in Georgia who have been touched by the criminal legal system. It defends some people charged in Fulton and DeKalb counties and helps people clean up old records so it is easier to get a job or a home. It also helps with ending felony probation early, job license problems, and questions about voting.

Curator’s note: Free legal help to clear an old criminal record, which can open up jobs and housing.

First Step Staffing is a nonprofit staffing agency that helps people who face barriers to work, including people who are homeless, veterans, and people who were in jail or prison. It places people in light-industrial jobs, offers job coaching, and helps with rides to work. It also has a team that helps people who are homeless get disability benefits.

Curator’s note: A nonprofit staffing agency that places people with records in light-industrial jobs and helps with rides to work. Most people start within a day or two of applying.

Georgia Works helps chronically homeless men get back on their feet. Men live at the program for six months to a year, do paid transitional work, and get case management, job training and classes. Its Housing Division also offers furnished shared housing for low-income people, homeless people, families and people returning from prison.

Curator’s note: A live-in program of 6 to 12 months for men who have been homeless for a long time: housing, paid work and case management. Men must stay drug and alcohol free.

City of Refuge is a faith-based campus on Atlanta's Westside that helps people and families move out of crisis. It offers housing for women, children, and men, free job training, youth programs, a school, a campus kitchen, and an on-site health clinic. For housing, call and leave a message, because walk-ins are not taken.

Curator’s note: A Westside campus with housing, meals, job training and support for people returning from incarceration.

Integrity Transformations CDC helps people on Atlanta's Westside find jobs and build better lives. It runs job training and placement programs, offers The BRIDGE for people returning home from jail or prison, and helps residents with housing and homeownership through financial education.

Curator’s note: Free job-readiness classes, resume and interview help, and links to free job training on the Westside, with a focus on people coming home from prison or jail.

Goodwill of North Georgia runs thrift stores and uses the money to pay for free career centers. The centers help people look for jobs, use computers, work with a career coach, and take job training classes. It also helps people with barriers to work, such as a criminal record or a disability.

Curator’s note: Free career centers with job search help, coaching and training.

The Urban League of Greater Atlanta has worked in metro Atlanta since 1920. Its Financial Empowerment & Economic Resilience Center is a one-stop place for emergency help with rent and bills, jobs, housing, small business help and money coaching. It also runs programs for young people and a water bill help program for DeKalb County.

Curator’s note: Job training, housing counseling and financial coaching, by appointment. It has served metro Atlanta since 1920.

Motherhood Beyond Bars is a Georgia group that helps women who are pregnant or have babies while in prison. It also helps the family members and friends who care for those babies. It gives diapers, baby supplies, money for calls and emails with mothers, and help planning for life after prison.

Curator’s note: For mothers who are pregnant or gave birth while incarcerated in Georgia, and for the people caring for their babies: supplies, caregiver support and reentry planning.