February 24, 2011 

ATLANTA – A new video has been published to YouTube by the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD) explaining the agency’s plans for expanding community services in North Georgia. It’s available for viewing on the web at http://www.youtube.com/user/GeorgiaDBHDD.

The video is an effort to help the public better understand all of the services that will be put in place in 2011 to prevent the need for institutionalization among people with mental illness and developmental disabilities. Over 90-percent of the people served by DBHDD in the 31 counties that make up Region 1 already receive community services. By expanding those services and adding new ones, the agency will dramatically reduce the number of people who have to be transported to the state psychiatric institution in Rome, Georgia.

The brief video – under 6-and-a-half minutes in length – discusses the changing nature of mental health and developmental disability services nationwide before proceeding to lay out exactly what services are being planned, where they’ll be located, and when they’ll be available.

“We’re trying to use new technology to help as many people as possible understand the changes taking place in North Georgia,” said DBHDD Communications Director Tom Wilson. “We’ve found that traditional media, public meetings, and word-of-mouth just haven’t been effective in communicating the facts. We hope this video helps.”

Contact Information:

Tom Wilson ([email protected])