Mental health officials report that crisis calls in Georgia have increased by 12%

In Georgia, there has been an increase in calls for mental health emergencies. Local and state leaders said there’s a drastic increase in people calling the crisis hotline 988.

Shontinia Stallings has spent the last week walking the streets of Metro Atlanta in search of her daughter Brittany Stallings. Brittany, 25, suffers from Schizoaffective Disorder.

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Drayton said her daughter checked herself out of a crisis center in Dekalb County on Friday, “She’s gone, and we have not seen her since. I can’t sleep. I’ve been out on these streets. We’ve been putting out messages.”

Local, state, national, and international leaders met in Downtown Atlanta for a discussion on mental health and the new crisis suicide lifeline number 988.

“We’re seeing a 12% increase in the last year in the call volume,” said Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Kevin Tanner.

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Kevin Tanner, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, said this number had increased significantly after the Midtown Shooting at Northside Medical Center.

Deion Patrick, 24, is accused by the police of shooting five women in the head and killing one. Patterson’s mother said he was suffering from a mental health crisis at the time of the incident.

Tanner also said, “It’s okay not to be okay, and it’s also okay to seek help.”

That’s a message Drayton is hoping her daughter hears loud and clear, “Brittany, we love you. We miss you. We miss you. You’re not in any kind of trouble.”

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