Children and families often interact with more than one community system at a time. A student struggling with attendance may also be facing behavioral health needs, transportation challenges, family stressors, academic concerns, or other barriers. When schools, courts, providers, families, and community organizations are able to work together, there is a greater opportunity to identify those needs earlier and connect families with appropriate support. Two efforts underway in

September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, a time to raise awareness, promote hope, reduce stigma and make sure people know where support is available. At Mental Health Matters, we believe awareness is important, but it must also lead to action. That means talking openly about mental health, learning how to recognize when someone may be struggling, sharing resources like 988 and building a community where asking for help is treated as a sign of strength. The Impact Here

Mental Health Matters is working with Houston County public-safety leadership to explore a local co-response model for calls involving a person in crisis. The goal is to build a better response pathway that helps match the person, the need, and the response. Early planning conversations have included Houston County public-safety leaders, with a vision of pairing a dedicated deputy with a behavioral-health co-responder for appropriate calls involving mental health or behaviora