State Senator Kenya Wicks (D-Fayette) has issued a statement on mental health in Georgia, highlighting the progress made and the work that remains to be done. According to her, the Georgia General Assembly has worked to improve the state of mental health, but there is always one more step to take.
Wicks first discussed the need to make mental health the central focus of policymaking. The issue isn’t contained to any particular group or county, and everyone from Forest Park to North Fayette is affected.
The State Senator then highlighted how more than 200,000 Georgians called the Suicide and Crisis hotline in 2024 alone. To her, this number underscores the ongoing mission to provide comprehensive care for those in need.
She cited House Bill (HB) 68 as one of the Assembly’s best efforts to improve statewide mental health. As an appropriations bill, it allocates $5 million for improving crisis stabilization centers and $58 million for addiction recovery programs. It also allocates $19.5 million to expand school-based mental health services and $7 million for student advocacy specialists.
The Assembly also passed HB 268, which improves the emergency response systems in schools around the state. The bill goes further and requires schools to share their digital floor plans with local police, enhancing their ability to navigate schools in an emergency.
Wicks applauded these two bills for moving Georgia in the right direction, stating, “Together, these bills reflect a bipartisan commitment to building systems that uplift, protect and heal.”
She concluded her statement by criticizing the Republican Party for refusing to address gun violence. To her, gun safety is the next step, and it has to be implemented alongside the mental health reforms.
“They refused to pass even the most basic gun safety reforms,” she stated. “As a mother and a veteran, I know we can’t talk seriously about safety without talking about the weapons that continue to end innocent lives. Georgia needs stronger gun laws.”
