MOULTRIE, Ga. — The Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities has chosen Moultrie as one of two pilot sites for a new NAMI Georgia initiative, which will include four programs designed to provide support and care to the youth in the local community.

The four classes included in the pilot program are Crisis Intervention Team-Youth (CIT-Y), NAMI Basics, Parents and Teachers as Allies, and Ending the Silence.

A stakeholder meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, March 27. Seats are limited, and RSVP registration is required.

The meeting will introduce the program goals designed to educate the community on behavioral health issues and will be open to community stakeholders that work with youth.

Shannon Bell, president of NAMI Moultrie, said Mayor William McIntosh will serve as the Champion for Youth for the program, due to his ties with the youth that he serves through being the mayor and working as the juvenile court judge.

Bell said the purpose of the stakeholder meeting is to introduce the programs to advocates in the community conveniently, at one time and in one location.

They want to identify resources available to the people who need to be informed the most and the people who need to know the most about them in order to better serve the youth in the community.

Colquitt County was selected as a pilot site because of Moultrie’s continued involvement with the NAMI program and the successful annual NAMI Walks.

Vice President of NAMI Moultrie Lynn Wilson said that NAMI Moultrie is extremely pleased to have been selected for the initiative. 

Wilson expressed concern, saying that the youth of today are subject to pressures that did not have a significant effect on prior generations.

“Parenting is no easy task and as a whole, parents and educators are not trained to see the red flags that may indicate an emerging mental health issue,” Wilson said. “Early intervention is critical … the key is education, and that is what the Youth in Crisis initiative is about.”

“I wish I could say all of our youth are mentally healthy and have not been affected by the stresses of society, but that is not the case,” Wilson said. “It is past time for a stronger collaborative effort to address their health and safely.”

Bell plans to invite local pastors, the YMCA, the Boys and Girls Club, the Colquitt County school system and anyone else who is involved directly with the youth of Colquitt County.

Bell only asks for the commitment from the participants and parents in the community to channel the information and programs to the youth in the community.

For reservations or more information, email nami.moultrie@gmail.com.