Gwinnett County Sheriff Keybo Taylor revealed that the jail has become the largest mental health facility in the state. “It’s not just Gwinnett County, but I think all sheriff's offices are experiencing an uptick in the number of people coming into their facilities. The problem is that once they're here, we're trying to provide services for them. There's no movement to get them placed where they need to be,” Taylor said.

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This situation significantly strains resources, staff, and recruitment efforts. Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office Chief Cleo Atwater noted that jailers are now performing roles akin to those of social workers or licensed mental health clinicians. “For jailers, with all those different responsibilities, if someone is suffering from mental health issues—which we see daily in our facility—it involves everything from counseling to administering psychotropic medications,” Atwater said. “With such a large population, you move from ensuring someone's safety to also preventing self-harming behavior.”

“Sometimes a deputy or jailer may get assaulted. We're trying to make sure that people understand that the training process is ongoing,” Taylor added. “But our resources are limited. We don't have the same level of resources that they would have in a state hospital.”

In 1999, the US Supreme Court ruled to close mental health hospitals to better integrate patients into society. This forced Georgia to reinvent its mental health system from the ground up.
Gwinnett’s Department of Corrections has also seen a notable increase in residents requiring mental health care. Warden Darrell Johnson, who has served the County for decades, says the demand for service and support continues to grow. “A couple of years ago, we increased our mental health counselors. We have a counselor here at least five days a week to constantly and continuously monitor these individuals,” Johnson said.

The Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office introduced its Mental Health Task Force in 2021 to help monitor and advocate for those in crisis, but the need for resources extends beyond these facilities. “Sometimes a mental breakdown happens because a person feels hopeless. So, we partner with other stakeholders to ensure that once a person is out of our jail, they continue to receive services,” Taylor said.

Despite the heavy burden, progress is being made. Recently, the Sheriff’s Office received a perfect score from the National Commission on Correctional Health Care for how inmates are medically treated. Additionally, the office has dedicated multiple units to residents experiencing a mental health crisis.

If you or a loved one are experiencing a crisis and need immediate assistance, call 988 to speak with a mental health professional or call 911 for law enforcement assistance.