THOMASVILLE — Georgia Pines, in partnership with the Vashti Center and various other organizations, is hosting a Mental Health Awareness Day in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month.

Since 1949, Mental Health Awareness Month has aimed to increase awareness of the importance of mental wellness and celebrate recovery from mental illness.

Georgia Pines, a mental health, intellectual/developmental, and addictive diseases service, aims to do just that on Wednesday, when they come together to provide resources and share personal testimonies of overcoming mental illness through treatment and medication.

“We are just coming together to celebrate and to give back to the community,” said Jamekah Brooks, Director of Outpatient Services.

Various programs of Georgia Pines will be on display for individuals and families to speak with, including their inpatient and outpatient programs.

Georgia Pines boasts three short-term stabilization programs, including The Phoenix, Robert’s Place, and HillTop.

During the time spent in the inpatient facilities, residents can also seek outpatient treatment from Georgia Pines, including family and individual therapy, crisis intervention, and services from doctors and nurses.

Georgia Pines does not just service adults, as they also run the APEX Program, which is a school-based mental health program that involves the development of partnerships between community-based provider agencies and the school system.

The APEX Program currently serves six school districts and 37 schools. It has provided more than 18,000 services to children and adolescents and 790 crisis interventions.

Individuals in attendance can also speak with two of Georgia Pines’ co-responders, who are partnered with surrounding policing agencies to respond to a mental health call.

Co-responders are currently based in Thomas, Mitchell and Colquitt Counties with Georgia Pines Executive Director Robert Hurn looking to begin a new school-based co-responder program.

Hurn and Brooks hope the Mental Health Awareness Day will bring these programs to light and help break the stigma for both adults and adolescents, showing them everyone, regardless of age, gender, and race, can struggle with mental health.

In 2024, Georgia Pines served 10,149 individuals 53% of which were male. Of the 10,149 served, more than 5,000 of the individuals were ages 30-64, and 61.9% of them were single.

Thomas County accounts for the largest county served, with 23.4% of the individuals serviced being from this area.

Despite seeing such a large clientele, Hurn said there are many who still don’t know the organization exists, so he hopes this event will showcase all of their offerings for kids and adults.

“We just want to get the word out about Georgia Pines and our resources,” Hurn said. “There are all these services that are out here for them.”

The family-friendly event and resource fair will be from 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. on the lawn at 252 Woodlands Blvd., the former location of Southwestern State Hospital.