Nora Lott Haynes, the governor’s appointee to the Georgia Behavioral Health Reform and Innovation, feels a lot more needs to be done to address mental health issues in Georgia.
“Mental illness is a beast,” Haynes told the Golden Isles Republican Women’s Club at its monthly meeting Monday.
It’s especially hard on families with a loved one who doesn’t know he or she is sick. What makes matters more challenging is that Georgia ranks last in the nation in providing mental health services, she said.
“There is no help out there,” she said.
The solution is not that complicated, she said.
“This is not rocket science,” she said. “They want to be contributing members of society.”
More has to be done to help children and adolescents in Georgia.
“If we can’t take care of our young people, what does that say about us as a society?” she asked.
Without help, many youth will end up in jail or homeless by the time they are adults, she said.
The plan is to identify repeat offenders with mental health issues and force them into treatment, Haynes said.
“We have to hold public servants accountable,” she said. “It’s the only way to change.”
District Attorney Keith Higgins said his office wants to track mental health cases and added there is a lack of medical providers in the Golden Isles to deal with the issue. The goal is to treat the issues that lead to unlawful behavior, Higgins said.
Glynn County Commissioner Cap Fendig said mental health was one of the issues on his campaign agenda when he ran for office. It’s more costly to keep dealing with mental health issues than to build and staff treatment facilities.
“We lack the facilities to take care of that local responsibility,” he said.