May is National Mental Health Awareness Month, which aims to recognize people living with mental or behavioral health issues and reduce the stigma surrounding these common experiences. Part of that process includes educating the metro Atlanta community about the mental health crisis and providing ways to help them. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), one in five American adults experience a mental illness each year.
Claratel Behavioral Health (until recently known as the DeKalb Community Service Board) is a public nonprofit organization located in Atlanta. Serves more than 11,000 uninsured or underinsured patients each year: children, teens, and adults with mental and behavioral health issues, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse issues doing.
Claratel is DeKalb County’s largest behavioral health provider. The largest bed capacity crisis center in the Atlanta metropolitan area. We are the only designated behavioral health crisis center serving Clayton, DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, Newton, and Rockdale counties. Claratel Behavioral Health’s growth includes a new $25 million crisis center, funded in part by SPLOST, approved in the November 2023 election.
Advocating for comprehensive health care at all levels is essential to supporting the mental health crisis. The common coexistence of mental health disorders, chronic health disorders, and substance use disorders requires a comprehensive approach to healthcare to address mental health.
Current state of mental health treatment in the Atlanta metropolitan area
- Atlanta and the state of Georgia are in dire need of accessible mental health resources. Georgia does not have large, state-funded transitional bed facilities that can provide clinical and residential services after discharge from a crisis stabilization unit.
- These people are instead sent to their homes, shelters, or limited recovery housing without receiving treatment in transitional accommodation.
- Claratel’s new crisis center helps solve this problem by offering a 24-bed transitional care residential program.
Connect with the community
- Claratel board members are selected by the DeKalb County CEO and approved by the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners. Each board member is a DeKalb County resident and has a unique perspective on mental health, substance use disorders, and developmental disabilities.
- Claratel is a long-time leader in partnering with law enforcement agencies to better assist individuals in crisis. Over his 30 years, Claratel has developed a joint response program with the DeKalb County Police Department. Through this program, a mobile crisis unit of clinicians and police officers intervenes to assess the individual and determine how best to help.
- In 2023, Claratel entered into agreements with the cities of Dunwoody, Doraville, Decatur, and Tucker to expand its co-responder program.
How to help yourself and others
- Learn about mental health, including the specific mental health challenges faced by teens, older adults, minorities, men, women, and the LGBTQ community, and how each of us can support these groups.
- Understand the impact that mental health conditions have on the physical, emotional and mental well-being of children, families and communities, and help overcome the stigma surrounding mental health conditions.
- We share free mental health support resources from mental health clinics, counseling centers, support groups, and crisis hotlines like NAMI and Claratel.
- Implement strategies to become your best self. Exercise regularly, eat a balanced diet, get enough sleep, find time for yourself, maintain a positive attitude and seek professional help if needed.
DeKalb County Super District 6 Mayor Ted Terry recently said: It is our duty as county officials to expand these resources, which is why I will continue to advocate for mental health funding by supporting initiatives like the new crisis center. ”
Mental Health Awareness Month not only shines a light on disparities across mental health care, it also highlights organizations dedicated to tackling the mental health crisis in metro Atlanta and across the United States. Claratel is at the forefront of mental health treatment in Atlanta, providing vital services. We provide services and initiatives to close gaps in care and reduce stigma around mental health.
By educating ourselves, advocating for comprehensive health care, and supporting organizations like Claratel, we can all help promote mental health and build more supportive communities for everyone. You can contribute.
