MACON, Ga. — Counties across Georgia are seeing the impact of mental health issues.  Changes to the way that people with mental illness and substance abuse issues are handled have created a cycle that is challenging county services, advocates say.  

In response to these challenges, the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) hosted an inaugural Mental Health Summit Aug. 1 in Macon.  This summit was designed to help ACCG’s newly formed Mental Health Committee identify areas of needed improvement regarding county commissioners’ role in addressing the growing multi-faceted issue of mental health.  

In addition to county commissioners, law enforcement, district attorneys, judges, and other advocates were encouraged to participate.  

Accompanying Colquitt County Commissioner Barbara Jelks were Sandra Cosby, chair of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Region 4 Advisory Council, and Lynn Wilson, president of NAMI Moultrie.

Presentations addressed the depth and breadth of the mental health crisis in Georgia and provided insight and information on successful initiatives around the country.  

Featured speakers included Georgia Supreme Court Justice Michael Boggs; Kim H. Jones, executive Director of Georgia NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness); Nastassia Walsh, program manager, National Association of Counties; O.J. Booker, Community Service Board Association; Judy Fitzgerald, commissioner, Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities; Sheila Pierce, director, Prescription Drug Management Program, Georgia Department of Public Health; William Trivelpiece, drug intelligence officer, Atlanta-Carolinas HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) Program; Yolanda Lewis, district court administrator, Atlanta Judicial Circuit, Superior Court of Fulton County; and Dale Peeples, MD, Georgia Psychiatric Physician Association.

Future summits are planned to assist county commissions looking for community-based solutions to get people the help that they need, increase public safety, reduce recidivism and implement cost-saving measures in county jails.