ARRENDALE PROBATION SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT CENTER
Facility Information
- Bed Capacity
- 100 beds
- Address
- 2023 Gainesville Highway S, Alto, GA 30510
- Mailing Address
- P.O. Box 709, Alto, GA 30510
- County
- Habersham County
- Opened
- 2007
- Operator
- GDC (Georgia Dept. of Corrections)
- Warden
- Heather Russell
- Phone
- (706) 776-4700
- Fax
- (706) 776-4710
- Staff
- Assistant Superintendent: Julie Yeargin
- Unit Manager: Keon Brown
- Chief of Security: Donald Applegarth
About
Arrendale Probation Substance Abuse Treatment Center (APSATC), located in Alto, Georgia, is a GDC facility that has appeared in GPS reporting in connection with gang-related unrest, including an incident in which women were arrested for inciting a riot at the site. The facility operates within a statewide system that GPS tracking shows has recorded 1,795 deaths across all GDC facilities since 2020, with cause-of-death data independently compiled by GPS due to the GDC's refusal to publicly release such information. As a treatment-designated facility housed within a system with no systematic gang separation policy and no structured exit programs, Arrendale's population faces compounding risks that the GDC has shown no coherent strategy to address.
Leadership & Accountability (as of 2025 records)
Officials currently holding positional authority at this facility, with deaths attributed to GPS-tracked records during their leadership tenure. Inclusion reflects role-based accountability, not legal findings of personal culpability. Death counts shown as facility / career.
| Role | Name | Since | Deaths this facility / career |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warden (Arrendale Probation Substance Abuse Treatment Center) (facility lead) | Russell, Heather | 2024-01-01 | — / — |
| DEPUTY WARDEN (facility deputy) | Brown, Keon | 2025-01-01 | — / — |
Key Facts
- Riot Incitement Women arrested for inciting a riot at Lee Arrendale, per March 2026 GPS reporting — full details pending independent confirmation
- 315 Gangs GDC has identified 315 gangs operating statewide, with no systematic separation policy — a vacuum Arrendale's population is subject to
- 1,795 Total deaths across all GDC facilities tracked by GPS since 2020, with cause of death independently classified by GPS — GDC does not release this data
- 301 deaths in 2025 System-wide deaths recorded by GPS in 2025, including 51 confirmed homicides and 230 still unknown or pending
- ~$20 Million Georgia has paid nearly $20 million since 2018 to settle claims involving GDC prisoner deaths, injuries, and neglect
- 1,243 inmates People in 'poorly controlled health' status across GDC as of May 1, 2026 — a population with direct overlap with substance abuse treatment settings
By the Numbers
- 301 Deaths in 2025 (GPS tracked)
- 1,797 Total Deaths Tracked by GPS
- 1,243 Poorly Controlled Health Conditions
- 45 In Mental Health Crisis
- 60.38% Black Inmates
- 5,163 Drug Admissions (2025)
Special Designations
- Substance Abuse Treatment
County Public Health Department
Food service and sanitation at ARRENDALE PROBATION SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT CENTER fall under the jurisdiction of the Habersham County Environmental Health Department. Incarcerated people cannot choose where they eat — public health inspectors carry an elevated responsibility to hold this kitchen to the same standards applied to any restaurant.
Contact
- Title
- EH Manager
- Name
- Marcus Hall
- Address
-
130 Jacob's Way, Suite 102
Clarkesville, GA 30523 - Phone
- (706) 776-7659
- habershameh@dph.ga.gov
- Website
- Visit department website →
Why this matters
GPS has documented black mold on chow-hall ceilings, cold and contaminated trays, spoiled milk, and pest contamination at Georgia prisons. The Department of Justice's 2024 report confirmed deaths from dehydration and untreated diabetes tied to food and water deprivation. Advance-notice inspections let facilities stage temporary fixes that disappear once inspectors leave.
Unannounced inspections by the county health department are one of the few outside checks on kitchen conditions behind the fence.
How you can help
Write to the county inspector and request an unannounced inspection of the kitchen and food service operation at this facility. A short, respectful letter citing Georgia food-safety regulations is more powerful than you think — inspectors respond to public concern.
Sample Letter
This is the letter Georgia Prisoners' Speak mailed to all county environmental health inspectors responsible for GDC facilities. Feel free to adapt it.
May 16, 2026
RE: Request for Unannounced Public Health Inspection of Food Service Operations at ARRENDALE PROBATION SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT CENTER
Dear Marcus Hall,
I am writing to respectfully request that your office conduct a thorough, unannounced inspection of food service and sanitation practices at ARRENDALE PROBATION SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT CENTER, located in Habersham County.
Documented concerns
Georgia Prisoners' Speak, a nonprofit public advocacy organization, has published extensive investigative reporting on food safety and nutrition failures across Georgia's prison system, including:
- Dangerous sanitation conditions — black mold on chow hall ceilings and air vents, contaminated food trays, and spoiled milk served to inmates.
- Severe nutritional deficiency — roughly 60 cents per meal; inmates receive only 40% of required protein and less than one serving of vegetables per day.
- Preventable deaths — the U.S. Department of Justice's 2024 report confirmed deaths from dehydration, renal failure, and untreated diabetes following food and water deprivation.
- Staged compliance — advance-notice inspections allow facilities to stage temporary improvements, then revert once inspectors leave.
Firsthand testimony
In Surviving on Scraps: Ten Years of Prison Food in Georgia, a person who has spent more than ten years in GDC custody describes no functional dishwashing sanitation, chronic mold on food trays, and roaches found on the undersides of trays at intake facilities. Full account: gps.press/surviving-on-scraps-ten-years-of-prison-food-in-georgia.
Specific requests
- Conduct an unannounced inspection of the kitchen and food service operations at this facility, with particular attention to dishwashing equipment, tray sanitation procedures, and food storage conditions.
- Evaluate compliance with applicable Georgia food safety regulations, including O.C.G.A. § 26-2-370 and the Georgia Food Service Rules and Regulations (Chapter 511-6-1).
- Verify permit status and confirm whether the facility is subject to the same inspection schedule as other institutional food service establishments in the county.
- Make inspection results available to the public, as permitted under Georgia's Open Records Act (O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70).
Incarcerated individuals cannot advocate for their own health and safety in the way a restaurant patron can — they cannot choose to eat elsewhere. This places an elevated responsibility on public health officials to ensure these facilities meet the same sanitation standards applied to any food service establishment.
Thank you for your attention to this important public health matter.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Food Safety Inspections
No inspection records are on file with the Georgia Department of Public Health for this facility. GPS has filed an open records request asking where these records are maintained.
What the score doesn't measure. DPH grades kitchen compliance on inspection day — food storage, temperatures, pest control. It does not grade whether today's trays are clean. GPS reporting has found broken dishwashers at most Georgia state prisons we've documented; trays go out wet, stacked, and visibly moldy — including at facilities with recent scores near 100.
Who inspects. Most Georgia state prisons sit in rural counties — often with fewer than 20,000 people, several with fewer than 10,000. The environmental health inspector lives in that community and often knows the kitchen staff personally. Rural inspection regimes don't have the structural independence you'd expect in a city-sized health department. Read the scores accordingly.
Read the investigation: “Dunked, Stacked and Served: Why Georgia Prison Trays Are Making People Sick”
Facility Overview
Arrendale Probation Substance Abuse Treatment Center (APSATC) is a Georgia Department of Corrections facility in Alto, Georgia, designated as a substance abuse treatment center for women under probation supervision. Its treatment mandate places it in a distinct operational category within the GDC system — one nominally oriented toward rehabilitation rather than punitive confinement. However, GPS reporting documents that the facility is not insulated from the systemic failures that define Georgia's broader corrections landscape.
The facility sits within a GDC system that, as of May 1, 2026, holds 52,912 people in active custody, with an additional 2,481 individuals warehoused in county jails awaiting GDC bed space. The total inmate count tracked by GDC's own weekly reporting, including those in jails, stands at 53,571. The system-wide population has increased by a net 201 people over the 12-week period from February 13 to May 1, 2026, reflecting continued pressure on facilities across the state — including treatment-designated sites like Arrendale.
Gang Activity and Documented Unrest
GPS reporting from March 2026 identifies Arrendale by name in connection with a riot-incitement incident: women were arrested for inciting a riot at Lee Arrendale, though specific dates, charges, and outcomes of that incident have not yet been independently confirmed by GPS. This incident is noted within a broader pattern of gang-driven unrest that has touched facilities across the state — from Washington State Prison (where four people died in a gang-related disturbance in January 2026) to Hancock State Prison (where two died in a gang altercation in early 2025) to Wilcox State Prison (where nine were hospitalized after a gang fight).
The statewide context matters directly for Arrendale. The GDC has identified 315 distinct gangs operating inside its prison system and has validated approximately 15,200 people — 31% of the total incarcerated population — as gang-affiliated, a rate more than double the national average of roughly 13%, according to the National Institute of Justice. Despite this, the GDC operates with no systematic gang separation housing policy, no structured gang renouncement or exit program, and no dedicated operational strategy for keeping rival factions apart. A treatment facility like Arrendale, drawing from a population that includes people with substance use histories and gang ties, inherits this institutional vacuum without any meaningful structural protection against it.
Mortality Context: System-Wide Deaths Tracked by GPS
GPS independently tracks deaths across all GDC facilities. The GDC does not publicly release cause-of-death information, and the classifications below reflect GPS's own investigative work — drawn from independent reporting, family accounts, news sources, and public records. Many deaths remain classified as unknown or pending because GPS has not yet been able to independently confirm cause; the true homicide count across the system is believed to be significantly higher than confirmed figures.
Across all GDC facilities, GPS has recorded 1,795 deaths in its database since 2020. In 2025 alone, there were 301 deaths system-wide: 51 confirmed homicides, 6 suicides, 8 natural causes, 5 overdoses, and 230 classified as unknown or pending. In 2024, GPS recorded 333 deaths, including 45 confirmed homicides — with 288 still unclassified. In 2026, through May 5, GPS has recorded 95 deaths: 27 confirmed homicides, 6 suicides, 4 natural causes, 2 overdoses, and 56 unknown or pending. GPS does not currently have facility-specific mortality data confirmed for Arrendale, but the facility's population is embedded within this system-wide death toll. No deaths have been independently confirmed by GPS as occurring specifically at Arrendale at the time of publication.
Treatment Mandate vs. Systemic Failure
Arrendale's classification as a substance abuse treatment center represents a formal commitment by the GDC to rehabilitation-oriented programming for women on probation. In practice, that mandate exists inside a system with documented, persistent failures across medical care, gang management, staffing, and oversight. The GDC's own weekly population data shows 1,243 people system-wide in 'poorly controlled health' status and 45 in mental health crisis as of May 1, 2026 — populations that overlap substantially with individuals in substance abuse treatment settings.
Georgia has paid nearly $20 million since 2018 to settle claims involving death or injury to state prisoners, according to verified reporting GPS has on file. That figure reflects a pattern of institutional accountability failures that treatment-designated facilities are not exempt from. GPS will continue monitoring Arrendale for incident reports, staffing concerns, and conditions that affect the facility's ability to deliver on its stated treatment mission.
Investigative Gaps and Ongoing Monitoring
GPS's current documentation on Arrendale is limited. The facility has not been the subject of dedicated investigative reporting in GPS's source archive, and the riot-incitement incident referenced in March 2026 reporting has not yet been independently confirmed in full detail by GPS investigators. No lawsuits, settlements, or deaths have been confirmed by GPS as specifically tied to this facility at the time of publication.
This gap does not indicate an absence of concern — it reflects the limits of GPS's current investigative reach relative to the scale of Georgia's prison system. GPS maintains active monitoring of Arrendale as part of its GDC facilities directory and will update this page as incident reports, legal filings, family accounts, or public records become available. Individuals with direct knowledge of conditions at Arrendale are encouraged to contact GPS through secure channels.
Source Articles (3)
Host Facility
This facility is located on the grounds of: Arrendale State Prison
Former leadership
Officials who previously held leadership roles at this facility.
| Role | Name | Tenure | Deaths this facility / career |
|---|---|---|---|
| DEPUTY WARDEN (facility deputy) | Yeargin, Julie | 2024-01-01 → 2024-12-31 | — / — |
| DEPUTY WARDEN (facility deputy) | Russell, Heather | 2023-01-01 → 2023-12-31 | — / — |
| DEPUTY WARDEN (facility deputy) | Yeargin, Julie | 2023-01-01 → 2023-12-31 | — / — |
| DEPUTY WARDEN (facility deputy) | Yeargin, Julie | 2022-01-01 → 2022-12-31 | — / — |
| DEPUTY WARDEN (facility deputy) | Yeargin, Julie | 2021-01-01 → 2021-12-31 | — / — |
| DEPUTY WARDEN (facility deputy) | Yeargin, Julie | 2020-01-01 → 2020-12-31 | — / — |
| DEPUTY WARDEN (facility deputy) | Yeargin, Julie | 2019-01-01 → 2019-12-31 | — / — |
| DEPUTY WARDEN (facility deputy) | Yeargin, Julie | 2018-01-01 → 2018-12-31 | — / — |