Gwinnett County advocates for early intervention in mental health problems

GWINNETT COUNTY, Georgia. – Mental health is a major issue following the horrific shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder that left four people dead and nine others injured. Advocates, law enforcement and local officials in Gwinnett County held a town hall meeting to show people experiencing mental health crises that help is available.

Christian Giddens, a mental health advocate, also lives with mental health issues.

“I'm schizophrenic and bipolar,” Giddens said. “It affects my learning, it affects my functioning and it affects my life.”

He wants to help people like him and show them that there is hope.

“It’s OK to go through what you’re going through because there are people out there going through the exact same thing,” Giddens said.

Giddens attended the town hall meeting at the Gwinnett County Justice Center on Monday evening.

“It’s important to shed light on the things that matter,” Giddens said.

“People need to know there are resources and who they can go to for help,” said Sergeant David Smith of the Gwinnett County Police Department's Behavioral Health Unit. “We can come in and do crisis assessments and counseling. We can bring a psychologist to the scene of an accident.”

The meeting was part of a series of town hall meetings on drug use and mental health in the county, which also featured the documentary series “Upfront Gwinnett: Suffering in Silence.” The town hall meeting took on even more significance following the school shooting in Winder last week.

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“This just shows how much earlier we need to intervene, from parents, from the community, from friends and schools. We need to intervene early, recognize the signs and help them,” Smith said.

County Commissioner Jasper Watkins III sponsored the town hall meeting to make people in his county aware of the resources available to them.

“You're saying there's a problem in your community,” Watkins said. “It's important to bring this to light so they can get help and the family can get the help they need.”

RELATED: How you can help the victims of the Apalachee High School shooting

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health emergency, call 988 or 911. For non-emergency situations, call 770-513-5436.