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Fayette County opens new treatment center
Judge Jason Thompson and Fayette County leaders cut the ribbon on a new treatment facility designed to provide recovery services and therapy for accountability court participants.
FAYETTE COUNTY, Ga. - Fayette County officials opened a new permanent home Friday for the county's accountability court programs to provide therapy and support services for local residents.
New home for accountability court program
What we know:
Fayette County’s Accountability Court finally has its own dedicated facility. The county purchased the space for $1,000, and the Rotary Club and local stores helped furnish it.
The center focuses on participants who have drug and alcohol addiction or multiple DUIs on their records. Instead of jail, the program wraps them in services for two years.
The backstory The county started a DUI drug court in 2016, and the program expanded in 2019 to include a veterans treatment court. Previously, participants met in the county's probation office, which officials said was not the best fit.
Judge Jason Thompson of the Fayette County State Court oversees the program. He says the new space provides a comfortable home for treatment.
By the numbers:
Since 2016, the program has successfully graduated more than 119 participants. It has also saved the county more than $4 million in jail and other costs.
What they're saying:
In 2016, we started a DUI drug court," Thompson said. "Then we expanded it in 2019 to the Veterans' treatment court."
He noted participants created and hung their own art in the new building. "It's their place," Thompson said.
"It's their home where they can get their treatment, because for this program to work, you have to do the hard work... and they can do that in a place that is theirs, that is comfortable," Judge Thompson said.
What we don't know:
It is not clear exactly how many participants are currently enrolled in the accountability court program. The exact address or location of the new Fayette Treatment Services facility was also not provided in the initial release.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from a provided news brief detailing the opening of the Fayette Treatment Services facility, as well as quotes from Judge Jason Thompson of the Fayette County State Court.