Georgia

AID Atlanta is a non-profit, community-based AIDS services organization serving individuals infected with HIV/AIDS and affected by the AIDS epidemic in Georgia. AID Atlanta has several programs and services for people living with and surviving HIV/AIDS including: case management; primary medical care; mental health counseling; medication and insurance assistance; housing and financial assistance; HIV testing and counseling services; STD screenings and treatment; and other behavioral prevention workshops and HIV awareness programs. AID Atlanta has three case managers dedicated to working with incarcerated and formerly incarcerated HIV+ people. AID Atlanta also operates the Georgia AIDS and STD Infoline, which provides compassionate, non-judgmental information and referrals regarding STDs and HIV/AIDS free of charge. All services are highly confidential.

The DeKalb Rape Crisis Center offers comprehensive services to Dekalb County residents who are survivors of sexual assault. Services include: 24-hour hotline and crisis counseling; individual counseling; medical, legal, and criminal justice advocacy and accompaniment; a weekly support group for survivors; a Multicultural Outreach Program for Latina survivors of sexual assault; and information and referrals. All services are free and confidential.

Freedom Overground’s mission is to improve the quality of life and life expectancy of the trans community during and after incarceration. We are currently serving the Georgia prison population, but are hoping to create a benchmark for national change. Our initiatives and programs ensure that the medical and therapeutic needs of trans incarcerated people are met by state facilities.

Service area: All Georgia State Prisons, all Georgia county facilities.

Work with: TGNC incarcerated community, incarcerated LGBTQ+ survivors of sexual assault

Services for survivors during incarceration include: mail correspondence, legal and medical advocacy, information, referrals, and references

Services for survivors after release include: mail correspondence, accompaniment to courts and during law enforcement interviews, hospital accompaniment during forensic exams, legal and medical advocacy, crisis intervention and counseling via hotline, information, referrals, and references

Services for loved ones include: mail correspondence, legal and medical advocacy, information, referrals, and references

Fees: Services are free

The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender National Hotline provides telephone and email peer-counseling, as well as factual information and local resources for cities and towns across the United States. Volunteer peer counselors share information about coming-out issues, relationship concerns, HIV/AIDS anxiety, safer-sex practices, and more. The hotline also maintains the largest resource database of its kind in the United States, with over 15,000 listings. All services are free and confidential.

Georgia Network To End Sexual Assault (GNESA) is a nonprofit coalition of sexual assault agencies and concerned individuals who share the common goal of ending sexual assault. GNESA coordinates and supports public and professional education, advocacy, and service for sexual assault centers and service providers. Currently, GNESA membership includes 35 rape crisis centers, sexual assault centers, nurses, military, campus programs, and other service providers throughout the state. These members provide all or some of the following services for survivors and their families: 24-hour crisis hotline; 24-hour medical accompaniment; legal advocacy; professional counseling for survivors, family, and friends; support groups; and referrals to counseling and other services when needed. Survivors of sexual assault can contact GNESA for referrals to services nearest to them.

Grady Rape Crisis Center is located in the Grady Memorial Hospital and provides comprehensive services to survivors of sexual assault. Services include: 24-hour hotline; crisis intervention; hospital accompaniment and advocacy; administration of sexual assault medical exams; individual counseling; and information and referrals. All services are free and confidential and available to any survivor who contacts Grady Rape Crisis Center.

The Rape Crisis Center (RCC) provides support and information to survivors of rape and child sexual abuse and to their families. RCC advocates can provide 24-hour medical accompaniment for individuals raped while incarcerated. Survivors taken to a hospital in Chatham County can contact the 24-hour crisis line and request an advocate and a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner. For more information and support, survivors can reach a counselor either by calling the 24-hour crisis line or by writing to the Victim Service Specialist at the above address. The RCC also offers medical and court accompaniment, in-person counseling, and support groups for survivors after they have been released, and for their loved ones. The RCC does not provide services to individuals convicted of sex offenses. All services are free of charge.

The Sexual Assault Center of Northwest Georgia (SAC) provides free and confidential support services for anyone who has been affected by sexual violence in the following counties: Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Floyd, Gordon, Murray, Polk, Walker, and Whitfield. Services include: 24-hour crisis hotline; one-on-one crisis intervention; 24-hour hospital accompaniment and advocacy; on-site forensic medical exams by a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner; peer led, education based support groups; criminal justice advocacy and court accompaniment; and information and referrals for survivors of sexual assault and their friends and family. SAC accepts survivor correspondence via mail. Please address letters to: Kim Davis, PO Box 828 Rome GA 30162. SAC also offers limited on-site counseling for women survivors of sexual assault in jail. All services are free and confidential.

The Sexual Assault Support Center, Inc. (SASC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing services to sexual assault survivors and their family members in Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit, which includes six counties: Harris, Muscogee, Chattahoochee, Talbot, Taylor, and Marion. SASC provides: a 24-hour crisis hotline; medical and legal advocacy; and referrals for counseling and therapy. All services are free and confidential.

The Department of Corrections has dedicated a full-time position as a Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) Coordinator to, among other things, serve as the agency’s point of contact regarding all PREA related matters, provide consultation and guidance to facilities’ staff with respect to PREA implementation and monitoring, as well as provide oversight for staff PREA training. The PREA Coordinator will analyze reported data and keep prison officials briefed on developing trends, lessons learned, and best practices for detection and prevention of sexual assault and sexual misconduct incidents.

The Office of the Ombudsman acts as a single point of contact for family members, advocates, and other concerned citizens who are interested in reporting complaints on behalf of prisoners. The Office of the Ombudsman acts as a bridge between concerned civilians and the Department of Corrections by gathering information that may potentially uncover or lead to the reduction of problems within the corrections system, thus ensuring that the rights and safety of prisoners are protected. Contact the Office of the Ombudsman if there is a legitimate concern pertaining to the care and safety of an inmate, including physical and sexual abuse, threats, harassment, medical and/or mental health treatment.

The Atlanta Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service helps people find lawyers suited to their particular type of legal problems. Participating lawyers have indicated the area(s) of law in which they can help clients, and in which counties. The Lawyer Referral Service provides clients with the name, address, and phone number of an attorney who is located in a convenient geographic area, who will provide 30 minutes of legal consultation for $35. The client and attorney will be able to discuss the case, concerns, or legal issues. The client must negotiate a fee with the attorney for any legal services beyond the initial consultation.

The Southern Center for Human Rights (SCHR) represents those confined to prisons and jails in class action law suits challenging inhumane conditions of confinement, degrading or discriminatory treatment, denial of medical and mental health care, and other constitutional violations. Center attorneys will respond to complaints sent through the mail by prisoners throughout Georgia, including cases of physical and sexual assault, but prisoners should be aware that the SCHR does not generally litigate individual cases.