Barriers to Mental Health Care in Georgia

My anxiety and depression have really been getting on top of me. It’s been scary, and it is often debilitating. So I tried to get help from a mental health organization in my part of NW Georgia that supposedly helps people who are on Medicare/Medicaid who are shut-ins, etc…

I was super encouraged when I read this blurb in the “about” section of their website:

“…We are committed to increasing access of care and breaking down barriers to services for those in need…”

I finally had hope for some help! I quickly filled out the form on their website and explained that I was hearing impaired and would need to speak to someone via email or text because I couldn’t do phone calls. An admin emailed me to tell me someone would… CALL me. (Um….)

I emailed them back and reminded them again that I couldn’t do phone calls and very nicely (I’m used to this sort of thing, so I do try to be patient/kind) asked if someone could email me instead. The reply? “You’ll have to ask the assessor WHEN THEY CALL YOU.” (Insert my facepalm moment here…)

So then I go back to them once more and… once more I proceed to explain my position…

The response? Now they say they can’t help me because I have “private” insurance. (I don’t. I have Medicare and Medicaid.)

But…they had now decided that I was ineligible. Once again, I went back to them and tried to explain it. Ultimately, they told me I needed to go to a private practice somewhere because they couldn’t help me. (At this point, I think they just couldn’t be bothered).

If I had access to a private practice somewhere – both from a financial and a transportation standpoint, don’t you think I would have done this already? I have been trapped in my home since 2018. I have searched and searched – all while my mental health has deteriorated further…

Is it any wonder why so many people succumb to their mental health issues when access to help is this complicated, and the agencies who claim to be there to help folks like me are so incredibly ablest? The barriers to care are truly abysmal. I really had some hope this time…

DO BETTER, GEORGIA! Good GRIEF! I am home-bound, wheelchair dependent, on disability, all alone, and have NO money. How do people like me even GET help? Or are we just expected to give up and wait for someone to toss us in a hole somewhere?

I guess we don’t deserve help.

At least, that’s what the state of Georgia seems to think…