By Hannah E. Jones

When it comes to access to mental health services, Georgia ranks almost last in the nation. To help reduce that barrier to entry, the federal government recently awarded a slate of grants to five providers in Georgia, including CHRIS 180.

CHRIS 180 was the only private provider in Georgia that was selected for the recent grant. (Photo courtesy of CHRIS 180.)

CHRIS 180 is an Atlanta-based organization that offers trauma-informed behavioral health services and wraparound support to children, adults and families. The nonprofit was selected for a $4 million, four-year grant to establish a Certified Community Behavioral Health Center (CCBHC). The funds were granted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 

The CCBHC model was created in 2014 to provide access to comprehensive behavioral health care. CCBHCs are required to serve anyone pursuing treatment for mental health or substance use, regardless of the patient’s ability to pay, age or where they live. 

“The focus is integrative care. You want to try to integrate mental health and behavioral health services with physical and medical services,” CHRIS 180 Chief Clinical Officer Anne Cornell said. “For a lot of us, and certainly in disadvantaged communities, [healthcare operates in] silos; They don’t connect the dots and don’t talk to each other.”

As a CCBHC, CHRIS 180 will directly provide or work with partners to offer nine types of services outlined by SAMHSA, including 24-hour crisis care and care coordination with local providers. With the new funding and model, the CHRIS 180 team anticipates serving approximately 1,200 additional patients.

Today, there are over 450 CCBHCs across the country, with eight in Georgia at various stages — including the five that were recently selected.

These services aim to increase access to care through a holistic health approach. Rather…