While Georgia took a legislative step in the right direction last year by passing the Mental Health Parity Act of 2022, the Peach State needs more than paperwork to meet the urgency of the escalating mental health crisis. Over a year since its passage, not a single insurer in the state has shown that it is treating mental health the same as physical health leaving patients to deal with out-of-pocket costs for psychiatric medical care.
That’s where local, community-driven solutions come into play—specifically, non-profit organizations like Nichols Center in Douglasville, Georgia, and their groundbreaking initiatives such as the Guardians Project for first responders and veterans.
Nichols Center founders will celebrate its tenth anniversary on September 23rd. Initially a plant shop to support suicide awareness, the organization has dramatically expanded its services by providing free mental health and trauma recovery programs in Douglasville and around the metro-Atlanta area. Nichols Center Chief Executive Officer Tara Nichols stated their programs are becoming a case study in local innovation for statewide mental health services.
Amidst the shortage of mental health workers and services, the Nichols Center stands as a pivotal resource. This grassroots non-profit family wellness and recovery center provides free mental health services and wellness programs for anyone involved in some form of recovery. The Guardians Project for veterans and first responders, for example, aims to offer these brave individuals a safe space for connecting and growing, providing them with the much-needed community support and appreciation.
But their innovative mental health workbook curriculum, Intentional Steps, is what’s really attracting the most statewide attention for its evidence-informed approach that is currently under review for national and international research grants. The workbook provides an interactive, individually tailored goal-driven approach that supports individuals growing through their mental, emotional, and physical needs while teaching healthy habits that can build stability and resiliency. Funds from the workbook sales go directly towards free programs offered at the center.
Intentional Steps has already been solicited for use by school districts and mental health nonprofits in Douglas, Cobb, and Paulding Counties, laying a promising pipeline for implementation. Described as a ““whole health curriculum and incentive program” workbook, participants are expected to improve psychosocial and mental health habits in a phased approach. The workbook is designed to be completed with a peer mentor, case manager, therapist, or sponsor.
In 2022 alone, Nichols Center impact reports revealed remarkable strides: hosting over 50 awareness events, awarding 65 scholarships for individuals stepping into treatment plans, completing 500 hours of community outreach, reaching more than 3,000 families every year, and providing 700 hours of suicide intervention training for the Douglas County Fire Department and Emergency Management, certifying 90 first responders.
Retired Douglas County Judge Peggy Walker described Nichols Center programs as an especially unique opportunity where an entire community grants the chance for an individual’s recovery from trauma or mental illness. The center also works directly with accountability court programs, district attorneys, and other government services partnering with them to ensure participants achieve optimal outcomes in all areas of their recovery.
Nichols Center scholarships, for example, help with court costs, therapy, a continuum of care that include mental health medications, cell phone plans, psychological assessments, treatment fees, and other emergency funds. But these strategies extend far beyond conventional mental health services with its unique Community Gardens, therapeutic extensions of the center’s wellness and recovery programs teaching families about the healing benefits of gardening and providing a focal point for individual healing.
Georgia’s Department of Behavioral Health And Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD), Community Service Boards, and other statewide agencies can amplify their effectiveness by partnering with successful non-profits like Nichols Center, and by integrating effective programs like Intentional Steps and the Guardians Project into a wider mental health support network. The Georgia General Assembly should consider offering tax incentives to organizations that demonstrate effective mental health interventions, thereby encouraging more to step into this vital area.
With the workbook slated for national and international research grants, evidence-informed interventions may soon set a new benchmark for mental health care nationally and internationally. Kim Jones, executive director of Georgia’s National Alliance on Mental Illness chapter, rightly points out we are in the midst of an “epidemic of a pandemic for mental health.” It’s crucial that Georgia not only maintains its commitment to mental health services but that it also innovates in its approach. By involving local non-profits in the efforts to recruit and retain crisis intervention workers, Georgia can more effectively bridge the gap in mental health care services.
Nichols Center programs offer a versatile, scalable, and most importantly, effective approach to mental health care. As Georgia navigates its complex mental health landscape, it would do well to look to such community-driven, holistic models for inspiration and partnership. With its vast array of services, Nichols Center services not only fill existing gaps but also create new avenues for mental health care, becoming a linchpin in Georgia’s broader strategy to address its mental health crisis.
William J. Black, III, is a Georgia lawyer, combat-disabled retiree of the U.S. Air Force, and member of the Board of Directors for the Nichols Center.
