ACCG holds first mental health committee meeting

Jun. 24—Mental health and substance abuse are both subjects that Baldwin County Commissioner Henry R. Craig has been vocal and passionate about for several years.

And now that he is president of the Association of the County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG), he has an even bigger stage on which to express his points of view on the topics.

One of Craig's first orders of business was to appoint a special committee to look at creating an information clearinghouse on mental health and substance abuse for all 159 counties in the state.

"Most of you know that I am very passionate about mental health," Craig said. "Mental health in Georgia for 140 years was in Baldwin County. As I've said before, there are 13,000 mental health patients — the key word, patients. They are not clients. They are patients. And if you look across the state right now and you go to Google and say how many public health and private health beds are there for mental health? My last search was less than a thousand beds."

Craig said every county in Georgia has a moral issue.

"It's morally wrong to take those that are mentally ill and put them in jail or to ignore them," Craig said. "If somebody had a broken leg or a heart problem, or cancer, we'd do something for those people. But in Baldwin County, like in all the other counties in Georgia, the primary facility for mental health is our county jails. That's morally wrong."

From a financial standpoint, every county has the same problem when dealing with mental health in county jails, he said.

"In Baldwin County, sometimes 60% of those in our jail are mentally ill, to some degree," Craig said. "It's a financial problem for every county."

In many counties and states, it's a public safety problem, he said.

Craig said it has reached this point because resources and policy are not provided to address mental health in Georgia.

"I dream that this committee is going to move the needle," Craig said. "I dream that this committee is going to be known by the governor of the state; it's going to be known by our legislature; it's going to be known by our DBHDD in trying to move the needle about how we deal with mental health."

He was frank with the committee in telling them that it is impossible for them to dream that they would make a huge difference this year.

Craig assured the committee that he has the support of David Sikes, the group's second vice-president, that he will continue pushing for mental health changes in Georgia. He said he also has assurances that the group's third vice-president will continue advocating for changes as well.

"We can make a difference about something that's important for every county in Georgia," Craig said.

He said he was honored to know Cindy Mills, who serves as a county commissioner in Forsyth County and the new chairwoman of the special committee looking into aspects of mental health in the state and what can be done to improve the situation.

"And I'm looking for her energy to be shared with all of us so that we can make a difference," Craig said. "Our goal this year, what I've laid out and what I mentioned in my speech when I became president of ACCG is that we create a resource for all counties for best practices for mental health, and specifically that urban and rural counties are different."

The newly-elected president of ACCG also said he is honored to know several people who attended the committee's first meeting.

"Thank you for taking this huge task on," Craig said.

Mills also addressed members of the special committee. She pointed out that the mission is a team effort.

"This is a big undertaking," Mills said. "And I appreciate each one that is here."

Mills said she was pleased to say that the right people are in the right place as committee members.

"I think Henry made it really clear about what our goal is and what we're trying to come up with, but make no mistake this is lofty; this is a big picture of things that I think we can do," Mills said. "I think that we've got a great team that's surrounding us and who are going to help us with research. We've got all the different pieces I place."

The ACCG Mental Health Committee also includes Hall County Commissioner Kathy Cooper; Dougherty County Commissioner Clinton Johnson; Chatham County Commissioner Helen Stone; Dawson County Commissioner Chris Gaines; DeKalb County Commissioner Larry Johnson; Gwinnett County Commissioner Jasper Watkins; Forysth County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Terry Hawkins; Cook County Commissioner Audie Rowe; and Rockdale County Commissioner Doreen Williams.

Dave Wills, executive director of ACCG, told members of the committee that as he was en route to Milledgeville on Wednesday morning he thought about what he should say about the subject of mental health disorders.

"I think the history of mental health disorders and problems dates back for as long as man has been here, right," Wills said. "And it's going to be here for as long as people exist. So, the question is how do we those things that we know can make situations better and potentially prevent problems."