In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, Dougherty County Board of Commissioners
and United Way of Southwest Georgia are teaming up to change the color of the Gortatowsky
Water Fountain (Government Center Plaza Fountain) to green and placing ribbons in
certains areas throughout the downtown area.

In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, Dougherty County Board of Commissioners and United Way of Southwest Georgia are teaming up to change the color of the Gortatowsky Water Fountain (Government Center Plaza Fountain) to green and placing ribbons in certains areas throughout the downtown area. This week, Dougherty County placed green ribbons at both entrances of the Government Center.

By turning the Gortatowsky Fountain light green, this provides the community with a simple, yet significant symbol of the awareness of mental health and helps in the effort to eliminate the stigma around it. With slightly less than half a month left in May, Dougherty County Board of Commissioners and United Way of Southwest Georgia are asking everyone in the city to wear green on May 31, 2022, and to post a photo of themselves and/or staff members for various organizations who may take group photos, using the hashtags #DoughertyGreen and #UWGreenOut to all social media platforms.

Through their partnership with Resilient Georgia, United Way of Southwest Georgia has taken a special interest in the mental health of young people in the surround 13-county region. Specifically, in the Albany area, they know first-hand the impact that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can have on the community. Fortunately, these ACEs are preventable, and actions can also be taken to mitigate the harm of ACEs among those who have already experienced them.

Through the United Way of Southwest Georgia’s coalition of like-minded organizations and by creating a unified front in the county and surrounding areas of Southwest Georgia, this is creating the first step in a reimagined community free of negative health and life outcomes commonly associated with ACEs.

Today, May 19, 2022, is Mental Health Action Day. In recognition of this day, United Way of Southwest Georgia, in partnership with Victoria Phoenix, will host a community discussion of the book, Whatever Happened to You? By Dr. Bruce Perry and Oprah Winfrey. The authors urge readers to deviate from the traditional asking of “what’s wrong with you?” when addressing trauma and adversity, to a more empathetic approach of “what happened to you?” The event is free to the community and will take place on Thursday, May 19th from 6:30 p.m. -9:30 p.m. To join by zoom, please use: Meeting ID: 853 4013 4181; Passcode: 070103.

If any organization is interested in joining the coalition to create a unified front in Southwest Georgia, contact Philip Gentry at the United Way of Southwest Georgia at [email protected] or call 229.883.6700 with questions.