VALDOSTA – The Greater Valdosta United Way is lending its efforts toward mental health awareness after being awarded a $200,000 grant from Resilient Georgia. 

Resilient Georgia is an agency that seeks to align “public and private efforts and resources across the state that support resiliency for all persons aged 0-26 and their families,” according to its website. 

The grant the United Way received will be split evenly between two years; the organization is hoping to start putting the money to use by April 1, Michael Smith, executive director, said. 

Goods, labor, service and staffing efforts must equally match the amount of funding received from Resilient Georgia. 

The United Way and community partners have jumpstarted the planning process for an event calendar that will include speaking engagements, training and other mental health awareness events. 

Partners are The Haven, Legacy Behavioral Health Services, the Children’s Advocacy Center of Lowndes County, Partnership Health Center, Boys and Girls Club of Valdosta, Girls on the Run South Georgia, Family Connections/Region 11, Vince Miller of Valdosta State University, Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson, state Sen. Russ Goodman and Second Harvest of South Georgia. 

Smith – who said South Georgia is among Resilient’s Collaborative 3 alongside Cobb, Gwinnett and Clayton counties – said the team is striving to address a high issue in Lowndes County.

“Mental health, it’s hard to see it and touch it and talk about it, so you also got to figure out how to address it and the pandemic just multiplied the issue,” he said.

He said it is the mission of the group to increase people’s knowledge of how to observe signs of mental health concerns and abuse and how to interact with someone who is contemplating suicide. 

Planning includes training first-responders and connecting with physicians, psychiatrists and others.

“We’re not the professionals but we’re trying to bring the professionals together,” he said.

Smith said the partners want to help the community reach out if they need assistance and they want them to know where to locate assistance.

“It’s OK to not be OK,” he said. “We’re all a little not OK right now.”

Interested community partners can contact the United Way at (229) 242-2208.

Visit resilientga.org for more information.