Georgia can improve access to mental health care by fully funding 988, report says

Credit: Public use

In 2022, total deaths by suicide and drug overdose declined slightly for the first time in five years, according to a report from Trust for America’s Health.

“This is certainly a welcome change from some of the double-digit increases we saw during the pandemic year,” Brandon Reavis, one of the study authors, said. “But it's important to note that suicides and overdoses in particular are still at peak historic levels.”

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Drug overdoses quadrupled over the past two decades, Reavis said, after Purdue Pharma’s OxyContin pain pill hit the market in 1996. The pharmaceutical company’s sales grew from $48 million to more than $1 billion in the year 2000, and, by 2004, OxyContin had become a leading drug of abuse.

Now, opioid overdose is a leading cause of death.

“So, although the report does provide a slight silver lining in terms of that decrease, it also shows that we have significant work that remains to be done,” Reavis said.

Finding care for depression or addiction is tough in Georgia despite the state’s efforts to improve access. The state has made some progress, but there’s a long way to go, including fully funding the 988 Suicide Crisis Lifeline, Reavis said. He suggested that one possible solution is to include a fee on cellphone bills for 988 emergency services like there is for 911.

“I think that kind of sustainable funding will be critical to make sure that Georgia residents have access to crisis services — not just the lifeline itself, but in the future, hopefully, mobile crisis units to meet them where they are and crisis stabilization centers to provide a safe place to go,” Reavis said.

Adverse childhood experiences such as abuse and neglect are directly linked to the risk of substance use disorder later in life, Reavis said.

The entire Pain in the Nation report is available here.