AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – A ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday marked the opening of Georgia’s newest behavioral health crisis center.

The new state-of-the-art facility, operated by Serenity Behavioral Health Systems, officially opened at 3421 Mike Padgett Highway.

The center was made possible through a state investment, including nearly $14 million in construction funding and $9.4 million for operations provided by the state.

The center replaces Serenity’s previous 16-bed crisis stabilization unit, which served the community for 17 years with funding support from the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.

Expanded capacity

The new facility significantly expands crisis response capacity and includes:

• 24 crisis stabilization unit beds.
• 16 temporary 23-hour observation chairs,
• Capacity to serve up to 40 people at once.
• Staff increases from about 200 to 245

“We care. We’re here to help people. We’re here to serve,” said Chuck Williamson, the CEO of Serenity Behavioral Health.

The center will provide short-term stabilization, assessment and treatment services for individuals experiencing behavioral health or substance use crises.

People can seek services voluntarily or be referred through law enforcement, hospitals or the courts. The typical stay is three to five days but can be as long as 10 days.

Meeting community need

Bethany Trapp and Lt. Sean Rhodes say they head into encampments and wooded areas twice a month, connecting people in crisis to help.

“We go out and seek out these individuals that aren’t coming for resources, that may be suffering from a mental health situation,” said Rhodes, a lieutenant with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office Homeless Outreach Team.

“We actually came across a couple of folks this morning who are in the middle of drug use, who said, ‘I want to get clean,’” said Trapp, program coordinator for CSRA Economic Opportunity Authority’s Marion Barnes Center.

Rhodes said law enforcement is often first on scene, and with emergency rooms and jails serving as the overflow for people in crisis, the need for this expansion goes beyond the new facility.

“This will take a lot of pressure off of the courts, off the jails, off law enforcement. There’s finally a place that’s very much dedicated and specialized in helping people when they have a crisis of those types,” Williamson said.

Part of statewide strategy

The opening of the Augusta Behavioral Health Crisis Center is part of Georgia’s broader strategy to build a stronger, more responsive behavioral health system focused on early intervention, crisis stabilization and long-term recovery support.

In the past five years, the state has started developing five new crisis center locations in Clayton, Fulton, Laurens and Richmond counties.

“This center represents hope for individuals and families experiencing a behavioral health or substance use crisis while also providing critical support to hospitals, law enforcement, and emergency responders throughout the region,” Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Commissioner Kevin Tanner said at Wednesday’s ceremony.

“For the first time, in my lifetime, I see that behavioral health and mental health is being given respect and parity with primary care and physical health care,” Williamson said.

Officials with Serenity Behavioral Health said the timeline to move into the new facility is still being finalized, but they expect the transition to take place in June.

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson will host a free Vidalia sweet onion giveaway during this month’s Food Truck Family Friday.

This month’s event will be on Friday at 4104 Windsor Spring Road from 5-9 p.m.

Community members are invited to enjoy an evening of food, music and fellowship while picking up complimentary Georgia-grown Vidalia onions.

“We’re proud to support Georgia’s largest industry and celebrate another Georgia Grown product this spring,” said Johnson.

The event will feature more than 30 food trucks and food vendors, live music and a family-friendly atmosphere.

It is free and open to the public.

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Augusta commissioners are being asked to forgive more than $70,000 in fines against the city’s trash contractor, Coastal Waste and Recycling, following missed pickups, cart problems and complaints.

Coastal took over all three of Augusta’s trash collection zones last year. Both the city and the company blamed early problems on the transition.

The city assessed about $144,000 in fines during the first three months. Commissioners are now recommending the city waive more than $70,000 of those penalties from the first month of the contract.

“They went from, you know, one month having like 40 some odd thousand in charges to now I think they’re averaging about 500 some in charges per month and those charges of course are based on if there’s a missed pickup or, or different things like that,” said Don Clark, District 5 commissioner.

Some commissioners pushed back on forgiving the fines, while others said the city shared blame for the rocky start.

The recommendation now moves to the full commission for a final vote next week.