As Sept. 1 marks the start of Suicide Prevention Month, staff members at Family Resource Center (FRC) have reported a somewhat bleak dilemma regarding the state of mental health in Habersham County.
According to Colleen Dougherty, a licensed clinical social worker with FRC, an unprecedented wave of clients reporting psychological issues have flooded into the organization’s doors and over phone lines. Asked about the overall picture of mental health in the Habersham community, Dougherty described a grim situation directly linked to COVID-19’s impact on the lives of everyone.
“It’s bad,” Dougherty said. “People are struggling – myself included.”
Speaking in a phone interview to The Northeast Georgian, Dougherty said that most of the people she encounters knows someone who died from the virus, adding that she herself has a friend whose son had just been claimed as another COVID-19 fatality.
“It’s hard,” Dougherty said. “I see people who’re struggling. People seeking help have spiked.
There’s a rise in people coming to FRC for counseling, Dougherty said, amid the recent outbreak of the COVID-19 Delta variant. Dougherty added that just last weekend she received a call regarding a client who wanted to harm themselves.
“This just happens every day,” Dougherty said. “I used to not get frequent calls like that.” Dougherty added that she’s seen a rise in domestic violence and sexual abuse in the community – a common contributor to instances of suicide.
Overall, the mental health crisis appears to have had a sort of cascading effect in the sense that as more people seek professional help, social workers like Dougherty become overwhelmed and inevitably suffer burn out. Dougherty described the role of her organization as equivalent to the role of other front line workers.
“[We’re] feeling it as professionals,” Dougherty said. “It’s really taken a toll.”
As a result, Dougherty and fellow staff members at FRC have been forced to develop creative new strategies for reaching individuals who might be at-risk of potentially committing suicide.
“We’re trying to reach parents in their homes,” Dougherty said. “We’re trying to help parents help their kids.”
Dougherty said she believes communities across the U.S., including Habersham, have been emotionally and financially depleted after living through two years of a pandemic.
This has required FRC to further expand their creative efforts for reaching at-risk individuals. Dougherty cited resources of one of the community’s more fundamental needs.
“We need to amp up resources to meet demand for what people need,” Dougherty said. “We really don’t have enough emergency resources.”
Dougherty, while initially reluctant to adopt the notion of providing counseling services virtually, said she’s grateful her and the staff at FRC were able to reach the many clients who depend on them despite limited social interaction caused by the pandemic.
“It’s been a huge transition but it’s been great,” Dougherty said, referring to FRC’s ability to maintain contact with clients.
FRC has a wide-range of clients ranging from 15-60 years old, according to Dougherty, who also noted that most are children who suffer from various forms of trauma.
She added that she’s seen more men in their 40s seeking therapy than she’s seen in the past, lending hope that stigma surrounding mental health issues is finally fading.
“There’s more awareness and people are being more proactive and that’s definitely a good thing,” Dougherty said. “We serve as many people as we can with as many programs as we can, and keep our finger on the pulse of community needs.”
According to the Department of Public Health, suicide in Habersham County has dipped slightly, with 12 cases in 2019 and eight cases in 2020. Instances of suicide in 2021 have not yet been recorded.