From Awareness to Action: What Houston County is Building Together.
- Mental Health Matters Middle Georgia
- Mar 11
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 16
Over the past year, Houston County has taken meaningful steps toward strengthening how we respond to mental health and substance use challenges in our community.
Through the Sequential Intercept Mapping (SIM) process, leaders from healthcare, courts, schools, behavioral health providers, and community organizations came together to take an honest look at where people are falling through the cracks—and where we can do better together.
What the SIM Process Revealed
What became clear is that the challenges our community faces are not isolated issues. They are connected system drivers that require collaboration across agencies and sectors.
Through the SIM process, our community aligned around several priorities that must be addressed if we want to improve outcomes for individuals and families, including:
Housing stability
Transportation barriers
Expanding the behavioral health workforce
Local competency restoration options
Directing behavioral health calls to treatment instead of jails or emergency rooms
Across every system represented, one theme consistently emerged:
Our community needs the resources and coordination to respond effectively to behavioral health crises.
Whether the first call comes through a school, hospital, family member, 988, or 911, individuals experiencing behavioral health challenges need the right help, from the right professionals, at the right time.
Early Signs of Progress
The encouraging news is that when communities work together, real progress can happen.
Since the first Mental Health Matters Summit, several collaborative efforts have already begun taking shape.
Truancy to Triumph: Supporting Youth Earlier
One example is the Truancy to Triumph (T2T) program, developed through a partnership between Houston County Juvenile Court, Houston County School District, and Georgia Behavioral Services.
This early-intervention program is designed to help divert youth and families away from deeper court involvement by identifying and addressing underlying behavioral health and family needs contributing to school attendance concerns.
By connecting families with therapeutic services and coordinated support early, the program helps ensure children receive the support they need before challenges escalate within the court system.
Expanding Community Training
Another area of progress is community education and professional training.
Over the past year, more than 60 community members have completed Mental Health First Aid training, equipping teachers, first responders, faith leaders, and community members with practical tools to recognize when someone may be struggling and connect them to the right support.
Mental Health Matters has also begun bringing together behavioral health providers and system experts to build a network of local instructors for Crisis Intervention Training (CIT).
CIT is a nationally recognized training model that helps law enforcement officers better understand mental illness, substance use disorders, and developmental disabilities while learning safe and effective ways to respond to individuals experiencing behavioral health crises.
Building a Behavioral Health Peer Support Hub
Looking ahead, the community is also exploring the development of a Behavioral Health Peer Support Hub.
This initiative would bring together mental health peers, forensic peers, and substance use recovery peers to expand the behavioral health workforce while providing community-based recovery support.
Peer specialists—individuals who have walked their own recovery journey—can offer powerful guidance, encouragement, and connection for others navigating similar challenges.
This type of support model could also strengthen local crisis response by supporting 988 crisis services and helping divert appropriate behavioral health calls away from 911 when possible.
By connecting people with the right help earlier, communities can reduce unnecessary emergency room visits, justice system involvement, and repeated crises.
The encouraging news is that when communities work together, real progress can happen.
Continuing the Work Together
But building a healthier community cannot happen through one organization or system alone.
That is why Mental Health Matters of Middle Georgia is inviting the community back to the table for the 2nd Annual Mental Health Summit on May 1, 2026, at the Perry Methodist Family Life Center.
2026 Summit Theme
From Awareness to Action: See It • Name It • Change It
This year’s theme reflects where our community is today. We have raised awareness. We have identified the challenges.
Now it is time to work together on solutions.
During the summit, attendees will hear updates on the progress made since last year and learn about partnerships already making a difference across Middle Georgia.
In the afternoon, participants will move into Action Lab breakout sessions, where community members, professionals, and leaders will collaborate to identify practical next steps around key priorities such as:
Reducing stigma
Improving access to care
Expanding the behavioral health workforce
Strengthening crisis response
Addressing the system drivers identified through the SIM process
Join the Conversation — And the Work
This summit is not just another meeting. It is an opportunity for our community to shape the next phase of progress together.
If you care about the future of mental health in Middle Georgia, we invite you to join the conversation—and more importantly, join the work.
Date: May 1, 2026
Time: 9 AM - 4 PM (registration at 8:30)
1009 Main Street
Perry, GA 31069
Cost is $15
Lunch is included
Resource Fair
Interested in showcasing your organization and resources for the community? Join us on May 1st as a resource fair vendor. Registration is required.
Questions? Email us! Info@mhmattersga.org
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