Thursday March 28th, 2024 6:46AM

Mental Health resources growing in North Georgia, Hall County

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and North Georgia has the resources to support mental wellness in more ways than one.

One such resource is Avita Community Partners, which is in the process of completing a behavioral health center on Old Cornelia Highway in Gainesville.

"We have right now what's called a crisis stabilization unit that houses 16 adult individuals that have mental health and detox needs," Chief Operating Officer Cathy Ganter said. "But we're in the process of and about to open what's called a behavioral health crisis center... it will be a crisis stabilization unit plus a 23-hour observation unit, plus it will house individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in crisis."

"It's going to have an out-patient component to it as well, so anybody can walk in at any time, 24/7, and there will be staff there that can screen." said Ganter. "We're hoping this will divert people from going to the emergency room."

Ganter explained that many times, people with mental health issues end up in the ER and impact the process there as they wait to go different facilities. But with the new behavioral health crisis center, the patient wouldn't need to go through the emergency room process before getting services at Avita.

The center is located near White Sulphur Elementary School. A firm opening date has not been announced, but Ganter said they were hoping for sometime in June.

Avita offers a wide range of services, more than just behavioral health but also substance abuse and intellectual disabilities. Ganter says the agency offers counseling and psychiatric care, as well housing and employment help, and school-based resources, like at The Hub at Gainesville High School.

Another resource is the United Way of Hall County. Their Reach Out campaign focuses on normalizing talking about mental health.

"Reach Out has provided several videos that we post online to just reach out to people and let them know mental health is a part of our well-being, part of health," said Director of Advocacy Teigha Snowden. "Give them a personal experience, let them know that other people struggle with mental health and you're not alone. Let them know mental health is not a bad thing, it's something we all need help with."

The videos are supplemented by blog posts on the United Way of Hall County website.

With Reach Out and the United Way's other programs, the goal is making a connection. Another way is a mental health advocate working with Gainesville Police.

"This clinician can go out with law enforcement to ensure that if there is a social issue that is mental health we can connect them with the correct resources and the right providers, versus taking someone to jail," said United Way of Hall County President Jessica Dudley. "That does not solve the issue at hand, it really does take the whole community working together."

And, another way if through peer-to-peer training that will start in June. The training offers educated support from a peer to offer an extra hand to those who might be struggling.

"We're trying to host mental health first aid training for 25 people per training, twice a month, and our focus is on people who are providing care for individuals 55 and older," said Snowden. "It provides training for people to be peer advocates, where they can assess people for the risk of suicide or harm, listen non-judgmentally, give reassuring information, encourage appropriate professional health and encourage self care and support strategies."

Snowden said they wanted to provide the peer to peer training since it can be a challenge to get appointments for mental health services in the North Georgia area. Opportunities to take those training programs will be announced in June, but the first session will specifically for the Cresswind community.

 

If you or a loved one are thinking about suicide please contact:

Georgia Crisis Access Line 1-800-715-4225
Text services available through the My GCAL app

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255 
En Espanol 1-888-628-9454
Text services available through Lifeline Chat online

Both lines are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in English and Spanish

  • Associated Categories: Homepage, Local/State News
  • Associated Tags: United Way of Hall County, mental health, Avita Community Partners
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