Dougherty County community meeting to focus on mental health

ALBANY — John Hayes told his colleagues on the Dougherty County Commission recently that while efforts to meet the physical needs of residents have been ongoing since January storms devastated the region, a large number of those impacted have had little help in meeting their mental health needs.

Hayes, who is teaming with professionals from Aspire Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Services, said he hopes to alter that shortcoming Thursday through the communitywide town hall meeting “Fostering Health, Hope and Recovery: Following the Southwest Georgia Storms.”

The meeting, which is free and open to the public, will be held at the main meeting hall of the 222 Pine Ave. Albany-Dougherty Government Center starting at 6 p.m.

“There are citizens in our community who are dealing with storm-related post-traumatic stress disorder without the benefit of mental health care,” Hayes said during the commission’s Aug. 21 meeting, during which he announced plans to host the town hall gathering. “We owe it to the well-being of our citizens to let them know that there is access to mental health care available.”

Aspire’s Babs Hall told commissioners at that meeting that few citizens are aware of — nor are they taking advantage of — the services that are available to them, often at little or no cost.

“As (Hayes) mentioned earlier, we’ve been dealing with the physical aftermath of the storm in our community,” Hall said. “We cannot ignore the mental aspect.”

In officially announcing the communitywide meeting, Hayes noted that resources will be made available by the Albany and Dougherty County governments, Aspire’s Georgia Recovery Project crisis counselors, Albany Relief and Recovery, city and county first responders and representatives of FEMA.

For additional information, contact Hall at (229) 430-6037 or [email protected] or call the Dougherty County government office at (229) 431-2121.