MACON, Ga. — Some of Macon's homeless don't have to battle mental health challenges alone, thanks to a partnership between Piedmont Macon Medical Center and Daybreak.
A few years ago, Piedmont Macon's psychiatry residents started volunteering their services at Daybreak to help people needing mental health assistance.
Once a week, you'll find Piedmont psychiatry resident and physician Sarah Gilmore down at Daybreak.
"It's not uncommon for me to see people at their lowest days and their lowest moments in life," Gilmore said.
She's been volunteering at Daybreak for the past four years, getting hands-on experience and listening to anyone there who asks for help.
"They just want someone who sees them as an individual, as a person of value, as someone who is so much more than their circumstances," she said.
She helps patients with evaluations and diagnostics. Then, Daybreak covers the cost of prescribing medications. Her job also includes breaking down mental health stigmas.
"The brain is just another organ like the heart or the liver, and sometimes it malfunctions, and sometimes you just treat it. And it's not different than someone who has high blood pressure," she said.
She said when patients get mental health help, other parts of their lives can start showing improvement, too.
"Our mental health is pervasive in every single thing that we do," Gilmore said. "It's being able to focus when you're in the classroom or being able to focus when you're at work."
Daybreak Director Sister Theresa Sullivan said mental health is one of the top needs among homeless people.
"It's wonderful when we give them food and a shower, but the question is: how do we get to the underlying need?" Sullivan said.
Since they started the partnership with Piedmont Macon, she said she's seen lives turned around.
"I've never seen someone switch and stay focused so fast, and because he did that, it cut down on his violence," Sullivan said.
She hopes many more at Daybreak get that same help, thanks to Piedmont Macon.
Piedmont Macon's psychiatry residents also started a fundraiser to support this year's Greater Macon Sleepout. You can donate to Daybreak here.
DAYBREAK SLEEPOUT 2024
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