ATLANTA, Ga. — A free help fair in downtown Atlanta for people waiting on criminal cases in Fulton County is getting a bigger room this year. Organizers in the court system have booked the Government Center atrium on Pryor Street for Oct. 28, a Wednesday, running 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., for this year’s edition of the event run by Pretrial Services.
Past editions were held inside the Fulton County Courthouse. Organizers shifted to the larger atrium because they expect hundreds of visitors and upward of 24 providers representing courts and corrections, health and human services groups.
Tables will cover job searches, housing, health care, WIC nutrition aid, GED and continuing education classes, and help getting identification papers. Providers will also offer evaluations for drug, alcohol and mental health needs on site.
The fair is aimed at defendants with pending cases in either the superior or state courts. Pretrial Services, created in 1963, tracks whether defendants released before trial follow the conditions a judge sets, and the division credits that work with shrinking the county jail population and saving taxpayers millions over the years.
Conditions the supervision unit enforces can include drug treatment, counseling, stay-away orders or regular check-ins, and each released defendant is assigned a Pretrial Services Officer who follows the case until it is resolved. The court describes the program as a cheaper option than keeping low-risk defendants behind bars.
Admission is free. The Government Center sits across from the courthouse complex on Pryor Street, a short walk from the Five Points area.
Section: More Atlanta GA events news