Atlanta's innovative PAD program secures funding for extended community support

Funding has been approved to continue the Policing Alternatives and Diversion (PAD) program, which provides help to Atlanta's unhoused population instead of handcuffs.

The program has worked so well that many members of the Atlanta City Council and others in the community want to see it expand beyond its current schedule of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

"Looks like I've got enough to arrest you, but have you ever heard of the PAD program?" an APD officer asked citizens who needed help.

Sworn APD officers can call in the PAD team members to deal with mental illness, give out food and water, or talk to people, getting a sense of what they really need.

"If the police feel that a person can benefit from services other than going to jail, they contact us," PAD member Carlisle Newman explained.

PAD is all about giving people help rather than an arrest and criminal charges.

PAD employees focus on low-level crimes like panhandling or soliciting. It started as a pilot program, but members of the City Council and those in the community want to see the program reach more people.

"Do you think it's time to expand it to... look at more hours?" Councilman Antonio Lewis asked.

The Carter Center supports the PAD program as well and has asked members of Atlanta's Public Safety Committee to continue funding. They have just completed a recent study of the program.

"According to our survey, 70% support the PAD program, 73% want to see it expanded, and they believe the funding should come from tax dollars and public sources," Ryan Greenstein of the Carter Center exclaimed.

The Public Safety Committee passed the $850,000 in funding that will keep the program active until the end of the year.