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Recovery advocates ask county to fund women’s residential program and evening youth drop-in center
Summary
Nicole Green, a person in long-term recovery, urged the Spalding County Board of Commissioners on July 21 to support a residential recovery program for pregnant and postpartum women and a GROW drop-in center for youth and people in recovery.
Nicole Green told the Spalding County Board of Commissioners on July 21 that Region 6 (which includes Spalding County) has high overdose and mental-health crisis indicators and urged county support for two linked initiatives: a residential recovery program for pregnant and postpartum women and a drop-in Griffin Recovery Outreach and Wellness (GROW) center for youth and people in recovery.
Green said she is in long-term recovery and proposed two “paths” of service: a residential program that provides on-site peer support, trauma-informed counseling and childcare aimed at family preservation and reunification; and a daytime/evening drop-in center for teenagers and people in recovery that would offer peer groups, resiliency supports and after-hours access. She said, “Recovery should be available to everyone.”
Why it matters: Speakers and commissioners called mental-health and substance-use responses a high county priority. County leadership told Green the board had already created a Behavioral Mental Health Committee and planned to appoint members that evening; Commissioner David Ledbetter said the committee is a “major emphasis area” for the fiscal year.
Details and partnerships: Green said the county-identified property could house a women’s residential program and proposed partners including Operation Mist (prenatal monitoring), McIntosh Trail and Pathways Side Medical. She said she had written grants and asked the county for zoning support, countywide inclusion in opioid/mental-health planning, and active promotion of a future women’s program. The board later moved to appoint members to a Behavioral Mental Health Committee, chaired by Commissioner Gwen Flowers Taylor.
Ending: Commissioners thanked Green and said county staff and the new committee will coordinate next steps. No appropriation or formal program approval was made on July 21; Green asked for county backing to help secure grants and implement programs.
