New Project Will Enable Early-Stage Mental Health Clinicians to Provide Culturally Competent & Trauma-Sensitive Care for Refugees, Immigrants & Migrant (RIM) Communities.

CLARKSTON, GA – 

The Clarkston Mental Health Alliance, which is comprised of the CDC–funded Prevention Research Center at Georgia State University (PRC GSU) in collaboration with the Georgia State Department of Counseling and Psychological Services and the International Rescue Committee (IRC), received a $100,000 federal grant from DeKalb County Super District 6 Commissioner Ted Terry, approved by the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners, this week for an innovative new mental health pilot project that aims to improve refugee, immigrant and migrant (RIM) communities’ access to much-needed mental health support and services. The funding comes from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) which helps mitigate COVID-related needs of DeKalb County residents.

“This investment from Commissioner Ted Terry will not only help address the COVID-related mental health challenges for Clarkston residents but will also provide the opportunity for recent GSU graduates to obtain invaluable clinical experience while making a real difference in the community,” said Dr. Michael Eriksen, Regents’ Professor in the School of Public Health and principal investigator of the Prevention Research Center at Georgia State University (GSU).

Super District 6 Commissioner Ted Terry, a Clarkston resident himself and a large supporter of the Clarkston Mental Health Alliance and the International Rescue Committee (IRC), believes that investing in mental health resources is paramount, especially for the county’s refugee communities since access and resources are limited.  Commissioner Terry approached the organization and encouraged them to apply for this grant. 

“ARP Grants are a crucial way that we as a Board of Commissioners can ensure the county is investing in improved quality of life for all of our citizens,” Terry said. “This money will be used to directly impact patients’ lives and demonstrates a true investment in economic growth, community and health and wellbeing. Breaking down barriers and making mental health treatment more accessible is one of my top priorities in office, and I will expand that effort at every opportunity. This collaboration not only expands this access, it also minimizes language and cultural barriers that prevent many from seeking the help that they need.

The COVID-19 pandemic shined a spotlight on the financial and resource insecurity of many residents and local nonprofits. The lack of access to mental health care is particularly problematic in Clarkston, where over 40% of those screened at the Clarkston Community Health Center were identified as having at least one psychiatric diagnosis, compared with 20% in the general population. For many populations of color, barriers to mental health care include its cost, prior experiences with systemic racism/discrimination, mistrust of mental healthcare providers, and cultural stigma related to mental illness. Refugee, immigrant and migrant (RIM) communities – such as those who reside in Clarkston – face additional challenges, including those related to a lack of access to transportation, limited English proficiency/health literacy, and lack of availability of culturally-appropriate care. 

Prior to leaving their home countries, many RIM individuals are exposed to traumatic life events (e.g., loss of loved ones, combat, torture); the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder in refugee populations is as high as 86% (compared to 7-8% in the general population). A survey conducted at the start of the COVID pandemic by the GSU PRC found that 61% of RIM community members in Clarkston reported feeling scared, anxious, and worried in the past 7 days. This dire situation is not insurmountable, however. Data collected during a one-year grant from the Atlanta Women’s Foundation to the IRC showed that, among the 80% of RIM women who were identified as needing mental health screening, 100% of the women referred to services after screening consented to accept mental health services with partner agencies. Members of our Clarkston community need – and want – the help, yet resources are woefully inadequate.

“ As we know, there is no community that has a sufficient level of mental health services available. In circumstances when service delivery is limited, we often see communities in which additional cultural and language barriers result in residents gaining access to even fewer of those supportive services,” says Justin Powell, Executive Director of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Atlanta. “This partnership will allow experts and recent graduates to “push in” to a refugee resettlement agency and work alongside caseworkers, social workers, teachers, and after-school counselors to help normalize mental health services. It will allow for early intervention and the chance to provide appropriate and evidence-based support services rather than waiting to intervene with services once a situation becomes an acute crisis. We at the IRC look forward to working with our partners from GSU to ensure these critical services reach community members responsibly, holistically, and empoweringly.”

The Clarkston Mental Health Alliance will consist of 5 Masters-level, post-graduate clinicians who will be based at the IRC headquarters. These supervised clinicians will be part of a collaborative care team working alongside IRC caseworkers to screen for, identify and immediately address mental health problems among IRC-affiliated clients.

Dr. Jonathan Orr, a licensed counseling supervisor and counselor educator at GSU specializing in trauma-related therapies, will supervise the clinicians. “This is an exciting opportunity for graduates of Georgia State University’s master’s program in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) to engage in meaningful community work while building their own careers as licensed professional counselors.”

By investing in early-stage career clinicians, the Clarkston Mental Health Alliance will be able to invest in a sustainable mental health workforce for the Clarkston community and be well-positioned to provide culturally competent and trauma-sensitive continued care in the future. 

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About Prevention Research Center

The Georgia State University Prevention Research Center is headquartered on the Clarkston Campus at Perimeter College. The PRC works with community organizations, state and local government, residents and other partners in Clarkston, Ga., to develop, implement and evaluate culturally and linguistically appropriate interventions to address the disparities and determinants of health for migrants and refugees and to disseminate this work at the community, states and national levels. 

For more information please visit https://prc.gsu.edu

The American Rescue Plan (ARP) provides $5 billion nationwide to assist individuals or households who are homeless, at risk of homelessness, and other vulnerable populations, by providing housing, rental assistance, supportive services, and non-congregate shelter, to reduce homelessness and increase housing stability across the country. Dekalb County received a $3.98 million share of federal American Rescue Plan Act funding. Under ARP guidelines, all the money has to be obligated by December 31, 2024, and completely expended by the end of 2026. In addition to the county’s allocation, the school district and the municipalities are getting their own share of ARP funding.

DEKALB COUNTY, GA (March 22, 2022) -– The DeKalb County Board of Commissioners voted to approve a $1.28 billion investment (2022-2025) into the county’s aging water and sewage system during the Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday, March 22.

Monies will go towards several Capital Investment Programs ($2.3 bn through 2029) to repair and maximize water and sewage efficiency county-wide. The ratepayer-funded investment will take place over the course of the next nine years in the form of yearly water and sewer bill rate increases. The first, a 6% increase, will go into effect in August 2022.

CEO Michael Thurmond recommended rate increases as a last resort to address long-standing issues during a special Board meeting held Thursday, March 3. Super District 6 Commissioner Ted Terry said those issues and years of neglect have stymied economic growth, new housing opportunities and harmed the county’s natural environment.

By voting in favor of these investments, Terry said the Commissioners are able to support the rebuilding and long-term maintenance of these vital pieces of infrastructure that will serve residents, businesses, schools and institutions for the next 50 years. Prolonging this funding would lead to larger costs down the road.

“In short, water matters, water is life and no longer is the ‘sewer can’ getting kicked down the road. Today we begin to turn a dream of a cleaner, more sustainable DeKalb with opportunity for all, into a reality,” Commissioner Ted Terry said.   

These new investments come with assurances from both CEO Thurmond and the Department of Watershed Management that solutions will be established to create a more equitable and sustainable water and sewer system. Terry, who pushed for a system that would avoid overburdening the economically vulnerable, emphasized that while some areas of DeKalb are seeing an economic rebound, many are still struggling. 

“We need a more equitable water and sewer system that recognizes historically marginalized communities that have suffered more environmental and economic harm than DeKalb County as a whole,” Terry said.

An intentional focus will be placed on these vulnerable communities and customer billing transparency in the form of the following initiatives:

• Care and Conserve Program – A $5 million investment courtesy of American Rescue Plan funding, passed by the Board of Commissioner,  will go towards plumbing and leak line repair, as well as conversation programs for qualified residents. Over the next two years, DeKalb County will partner with The Nehemiah Project, a local community development corporation, to repair leaks for those most susceptible to these problems, saving residents hundreds of dollars on their bills.

• Real-Time Billing – Customers can log into their DeKalb Water and Sewage account and see billing updates and alerts in real-time, allowing all to monitor their water and sewage usage and detect possible leaks. Coming in 2023, a new interface will debut, enhancing this existing service with more accurate data and refined ease of use.  

• Maximize Sustainability and Tertiary Revenue – Additional monetary savings can be made by addressing the efficiency in operations of Department of Watershed Management facilities. Terry said many facilities, especially the Scott Candler Water Treatment Plant and Polebridge Wastewater Treatment plants, have abundant acreage to install solar panels, generating clean, renewable energy while providing water bill relief.

After surveying more than 1,300 residents, the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners released insightful data and public feedback on the county’s vaccination roll-out efforts. The survey, which was open to all and aimed to reach those hesitant about receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, allowed many to express concerns they had about the vaccine. . .

DEKALB COUNTY, GA (February 22, 2022)  -– District 6 Commissioner Ted Terry voted to oppose DeKalb County’s 2022 proposed budget during Tuesday’s Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday, February 22. 

Terry stated that while the current budget proposal did include much-deserved bonuses for police and fire employees, the same effort should be extended to other frontline and essential workers, including sanitation, water and sewer employees. Terry also stated that more time should be allowed for taxpayers to provide feedback and input on the 2022 budget.

Commissioner Terry’s Official Statement:

“Our budget is more than a fiscal document, it’s a moral document. While our police and fire employees are receiving a much-deserved frontline bonus for their work throughout this pandemic –– our sanitation workers, and our water and sewer workers are not.

I know the people doing these jobs. I’ve been to the water treatment plant, the sewer treatment facility, and the landfill to talk to the managers and workers and I’m here to say: they are frontline, essential employees. The jobs they do are critical to our county, and we have a moral obligation to demonstrate that through our words and through our actions. By not including frontline bonuses for all of our essential frontline workers, the budget put forward today failed to achieve that.

I look forward to working with my colleagues over the coming weeks and months to put forward budget amendments that address this discrepancy.”

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