Dougherty Co. Commissioners pushing for help on mental health from Gov. Kemp’s office

ALBANY, Ga. – The Dougherty County Commission is looking for help at the state level to further address mental health within the county.

We caught up with District 6 Commissioner, Anthony Jones about the push to address mental health in the state with the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia.

And, in Dougherty county, the need for proper mental healthcare locations is certainly a major one.

“Whether they were veterans who have PTSD, or what have you, we’ve just got to help our mentally struggling people these days here. Because, certainly, they deserve a quality of life and we certainly need to look in terms of that,” Anthony Jones, District 6 Commissioner, Dougherty County.

That’s why county commissioners are pushing for Governor Brian Kemp’s office for better resources so that anyone can easily access mental health care.

Because, at this time, the only real place most people are going to find help are in the hospital, or in the county jail.

“A lot of folks are having problems with mental health. They’re being incarcerated because of the fact that they have mental health challenges, so we need to get our arms around mental health. This is a big issue,” said Commissioner Jones.

While Dougherty county may not be the worst in the state according to the county commissioner, that doesn’t mean he hasn’t seen some of the worst of it make headlines in the past.

“That’s mental health at its best. I mean we need to be able to get a handle and get our arms around it so that we can move forward with mental health challenges cause it’s a big problem,” said Commissioner Jones.

And, law enforcement is making changes as well to try and help people get the help they might need through de-escalation.

But, it’s an effort that’s going to take everyone at every level in the state of Georgia.

“Like I said, mental health is a critical issue throughout the United States and all around the world. Mental health can be like a crack addiction with all of these different drugs. And, it’s going to take a village to do it,” said Commissioner Jones.

In the meantime, while the commission and the Association of County Commissioners attempt to convince Governor Kemp to expand mental health services, there are crisis centers already available to lighten the load from hospitals.

Currently there is a crisis center in the Phoebe Health System to help improve people’s mental health.

Brian Roche reporting.

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