July 17, 2026 / Mental Health

Economic and Housing Pressures Are Driving Mental Health Challenges Across Metro AtlantaImage

The Atlanta Women’s Foundation, with research conducted by Advantage Consulting, LLC, released The Status of Women and Youth Mental Health in Metro Atlanta 2026, a regional assessment of mental health needs across Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett counties. Drawing on surveys, interviews, focus groups, and existing data, the report examines the prevalence of mental health challenges, the factors driving them, and barriers to accessing care.

Key findings:

  • Mental health needs are widespread and growing. Behavioral health providers identified anxiety (90%), depression (83%), trauma (76%), and suicide or self-harm risk (38%) as the most common concerns affecting women and youth across the region.
  • Economic and housing instability are central drivers of poor mental health. All providers identified housing costs, food insecurity, and unemployment as contributors to emotional distress, while more than half of renters across the region are housing cost-burdened—rising above 60% in Clayton and Gwinnett Counties.
  • Access to care remains fragmented despite growing demand. More than half of nonprofit staff reported clients experience delays or canceled appointments because of provider shortages, long waitlists, insurance limitations, transportation, and childcare barriers. Only 23% of providers offer integrated, one-stop services.
  • Women and youth face distinct barriers that traditional services often fail to address. The report highlights the mental health impacts of caregiving responsibilities, social media pressures, language barriers, stigma, and the shortage of culturally responsive providers, particularly for low-income families.
  • The report calls for coordinated solutions that address both mental health and its underlying social drivers. Findings point to the need for integrated services that connect behavioral health with housing, economic stability, childcare, and other community supports.
September 27, 2024 / Health, Mental Health

Addressing Parental Stress: A Call for ActionImage

In a recent New York Times opinion piece, the Surgeon General highlights the growing stress faced by parents in today’s society. Here are some key insights:

  • High Stress Levels: A study found that 48% of parents say most days their stress is completely overwhelming, compared with 26% of other adults who reported the same.
  • Mental Health Risks: There is a correlation between parenting stress and increased rates of anxiety and depression among parents, emphasizing the importance of mental health resources.
  • Impact on Children: Stress in parents can adversely affect child development, with studies indicating that children of stressed parents are more likely to experience emotional and behavioral issues.
  • Support Networks: The piece suggests that fostering strong community networks can significantly alleviate stress, as parents who engage with others report feeling less isolated and more empowered.
  • Policy Implications: Advocating for family-friendly policies, such as paid parental leave and accessible mental health services, can create a healthier environment for both parents and children.

For a deeper dive into this pressing issue, read the full article here.

June 26, 2023 / Basic Needs, Health, Housing, Mental Health

Homelessness in the U.S. has been on the rise since 2017, experiencing an overall increase of 6 percent.Image

The 2023 edition of the State of Homelessness report shows that, according to the January 2022 Point-in-Time (PIT) count, 582,462 people were experiencing homelessness across America. Using data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the National Alliance to End Homelessness provides an overview of the scope of the issue in the U.S., illustrating emerging trends. Some key facts:

  • Homelessness has been on the rise since 2017, experiencing an overall increase of 6 percent.
  • In 2022, counts of individuals (421,392 people) and chronically homeless individuals (127,768) reached record highs in the history of data collection.
  • Unsheltered rates are also trending upward, impacting most racial, ethnic, and gender subgroups.
  • Homeless services systems continued to expand the availability of both temporary and permanent beds in 2022, but these resources still fall short of reaching everyone in need.
  • Homelessness rose by a modest 0.3% from 2020 to 2022, a period marked by both pandemic-related economic disruptions and robust investments of federal resources into human services.

Explore Georgia’s COC dashboards here.

A note on the data: Point-in-time data are one of two common ways to quantify the homeless population. The other is through school districts as mandated by the Federal McKinney-Vento Act. Keep both sources and their definitions of homelessness in mind when analyzing this kind of data.

April 26, 2023 / Early Childhood, Education, Health, Mental Health

Estimating ACEs risk and protective factors statewideImage

Emory University’s recently launched Georgia Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences: Data to Action (PACE: D2A) webpage allows for exploring data related to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), student achievement, risk and protective behaviors, and much more.

Users can explore dozens of indicators in multiple layers using the friendly mapping interface and displaying relevant demographic and socioeconomic variables.

One of the key elements of this tool is the use of GaDOE’s student health survey to estimate ACEs risk and protective factors statewide.

Learn more about the project and explore the map here.

March 1, 2023 / Health, Mental Health, Victims

Youth mental health trendsImage

The CDC released its latest Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary and Trends Report. This is a comprehensive view of health indicators for school-age children.

Moving in the right direction:

  • risky sexual behavior
  • substance use
  • bullying at school

Moving in the wrong direction:

  • protective sexual behaviors
  • violence
  • mental health
  • suicidal thoughts and behaviors

 

The greatest disparities seem to be between males and females, where female youth are experiencing significantly worse mental health outcomes. This year’s report also breaks down racial disparities more comprehensivel thn ever before.

November 17, 2021 / Health, Mental Health

Over 2,000 Georgians died of drug overdose during the COVID-19 pandemic.Insight

Recently, the US government announced that deaths due to drug overdose surpassed 100,000 during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the largest number of overdose deaths ever recorded in a 12 month period. It is estimated that 19 in 100,000 people in Georgia died from an overdose, ranking the state 39th in overdose death rate. The Appalachian region suffered from the highest rate of overdose deaths (Washington Post).

Takeaway: It is necessary to increase access to overdose antidotes as well as improve substance abuse prevention and treatment programs.

October 27, 2021 / Education, Mental Health, Policy

“School counselors in Georgia say they are overworked, understaffed” as demand for student mental health services increases.Insight

“Experts say the lack of counselors is impacting students now and could have implications for a proposal to raise the age when students must attend school from 16 to 17 that is under consideration by the Georgia Senate Study Committee on the Age of Mandatory Education…The mandated counselor-to-student ratio in Georgia is currently one counselor to every 450 students. The best practice ratio recommended by the American School Counselors Association is one counselor to every 250 students.” – Fresh Take Georgia

Takeaway: Focusing on retention and compensation for frontline social sector employees should be a high priority.

December 22, 2020 / Health, Mental Health

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According to a regional tracker, the percent of telehealth diagnoses for mental health conditions is more than three times higher than the same time last year, likely due to both increased demand for MH services and increased supply/accessibility of telehealth options. (FAIR Health)

October 2, 2020 / Health, Hispanic, Mental Health

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The Hispanic community has particular physical health, mental health, and economic risks due to low access to healthcare, increased exposure, and stigma. Affordable and quality programs designed with this community are needed. [PDF] (American Psychiatric Association)

October 2, 2020 / Mental Health

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“Patients who were hospitalized with COVID-19 and who had been diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder had a 1.5-fold increased risk for a COVID-related death” [study] (Mental Health America of Georgia)

August 21, 2020 / Education, Health, Mental Health, Workforce

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Access to computers and internet supports (1) virtual learning, (2) job seeking and workforce development, and (3) access to telemedicine and mental health services (Mental Health America of Georgia)

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