Fulton Declares September As Recovery, Suicide Prevention Month

FULTON COUNTY, GA — Fulton County Commissioners on Wednesday declared September as Recovery Month and Suicide Prevention Awareness Month.

The county is focusing on recovery for those whose lives are impacted by mental health challenges, suicides and/or substance use. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, National Recovery Month is used to educate residents about substance abuse treatment and mental health services that can help those suffering restore their lives.

“Treatment for mental health and substance use is critical to the road for recovery," said Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Director LaTrina Foster.

Concerning suicide, the Fulton County Medical Examiner has reported 120 deaths by suicide recorded in 2016 in Fulton County and 126 during 2017. The National Alliance on Mental Illness states one in five adults experience a mental health condition every year, and one in 17 lives with a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. In addition to a person's directly experiencing a mental illness, family, friends and communities are also affected.

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Treatment for behavioral health issues is vital while making recovery from addiction a priority is also important for the following reasons:

• In 2016, there were 20.1 million people (7.5 percent), aged 12 or older who had a substance use disorder in the past year, according to SAMHSA.
• More persons died from drug overdoses in the United States in 2014 than during any previous year on record, the US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention states. From 2000 to 2014 nearly half a million persons in the United States have died from drug overdoses.
• Addicted persons who have abused opiate prescription drugs are increasingly likely to transition to heroin because it’s cheaper, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

As a voice for recovery Stephanie Kimsey says her downward spiral began with oxycodone use at age 15. Kimsey says friends provided the drug and the drug was easily available at home because of a parent’s active addiction. Kimsey says she could not hold onto a job and was always searching for ways to get high.

She says a friend’s overdose death and the realization that she either would end up in prison or in a casket helped her to make the decision to seek help. As Kimsey puts it, “I wanted to live a normal life.”

Since that fateful decision, Kimsey focuses on remaining free of opioids by communicating and networking with people who are "uplifting."

"I don’t want to be around people who don’t really see the light," she added. Kimsey, now 25, says she had an active addiction for eight or nine years; however, she proudly states that she has been clean for about 18 months.

From the aspect of addiction’s impact on the family, Dena Cross’s son, Erick, struggled with addiction beginning at the age of 18, which she says eventually affected his family relationships, friendships and even took him down a path to incarceration. Incarceration resulted in his decision to reach for sobriety. Cross describes the battle against Erick’s addiction as “fought with great emotion and tension” while she urged her younger son to live his life as best he could without allowing it to affect his future.

For more information about addictions, and the hope for recovery and mental health challenges, citizens can call the Department of Behavioral Health at (404) 665-8600, or visit www.livebetterfulton.org to identify Fulton County service providers for adults and youth.

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