AUGUSTA, Ga. () – The Lamar Mental Wellness Center near the Turpin Hill neighborhood is offering care for our underserved population.

The center is a new addition to the Lamar Medical Center.

Mental health has been an ongoing concern in our community and this new center is a way for people to get the help they need.

“The anxiety and the depression, and the sexual trauma, the traumas in their life, the marital issues, the relationship issues, that’s what we’re here for, to give them those coping mechanism that they need to deal with everyday life issues that kind of seem to bombard them and make them overwhelmed,” said Gladys Johnson-Ramsey, Director of Lamar Mental Wellness Center.

July is black, indigenous, and people of color mental health awareness month; Ramsey hopes the center will eliminate some of the stigma around mental health in the African American community.

“We just don’t acknowledge, it’s sad to say that we have these things in our family and we say ‘oh, that’s just the way they act, they always act like that’ we don’t identify it as a concern until it gets too bad,” said Ramsey.

There is also a food and clothing bank in the resources center for those in need.

Ramsey tells me the Medical Center was the perfect place to add a Wellness Center to be able to reach more people.

“It was so lacking in this area because there’s really nowhere else you can go unless you’re going to be hospitalized for mental health concerns. I want them to know that we are here for the, we have empathy, not sympathy, we have empathy for them, and compassion for everybody,” Ramsey said.

The center is part of the Beulah Grove Community Resources Center which was chartered by Beulah Grove Baptist Church in 1993.

If you are seeking any services at the Lamar Mental Wellness Center, you can reach out to Gladys Johnson-Ramsey here: 706-550-5421