Serving Barnwell County and it's neighbors since 1852
This map shows available mental health facilities in South Carolina.
Rural communities across the country are amidst a mental health crisis.
Mental illness can affect people of any age, race, or socioeconomic status. When compared to the needs of the total population, there are often not enough resources available and many negative stigmas that prevent people from seeking help. Financial and travel limitations can also contribute to individuals being deterred from getting services.
Over 706,000 adults in South Carolina have a mental health condition as of 2021, according to information sourced by the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI). This is roughly 14 percent of the state’s population.
NAMI also found that 2.3 million people in the state live in a community that does not have enough mental health professionals.
In an effort to provide needed mental health services across the state, the S.C. Department of Mental Health (DMH) operates 16 community mental health centers, some with attached non-profits. The Aiken-Barnwell Mental Health Center (ABMHC) has served its namesake two-county region since 1965.
The main center is located on Gregg Highway in Aiken. There are two satellite centers in the ABMHC district: the Hartzog Center in North Augusta, and the Polly Best Center in Barnwell. There are no barriers to care – anyone can obtain services regardless of ability to pay.
These centers are tasked with providing walk-in intervention, prevention, and recovery services such as care-coordination, rehabilitation, peer support, family or group therapy, and support at home.
The Aiken-Barnwell Recovery Foundation was born out of a need to aid these three facilities and therefore better care for the mental health of Aiken and Barnwell County residents. Having only just received non-profit status, the foundation is still in its infancy.
Breaking stigmas and being open about mental health is a main goal of the foundation, as well as supporting each of the centers. The non-profit aims to support both patients and employees of the centers.
The foundation is comprised of six board members with varying backgrounds in service, including Aiken County criminal defense attorney Clarke W. McCants. Before stepping into private practice, McCants began his career as a public defender – a county-appointed attorney to represent those who cannot afford to hire legal aid.
McCants is striving to become an advocate for increased mental health initiatives after seeing the need for services firsthand in and out of the courtroom.
“The Department of Mental Health plays a pretty sizable role in criminal defense,” said McCants.
His first encounters with the state agency were when they would aid in determining the ways in which legal aid should proceed when a client has competency issues or is unable to grasp the difference between right and wrong.
“In addition to that, a lot of clients actually use the services of the Department of Mental Health to get treatments,” said McCants. “Those are two different things… to determine competency, which is mandatory, versus somebody actually trying to seek treatment to better themselves. I still have clients who get treatment through the mental health center.”
While there are individuals who receive services from ABMHC and DMH at large, one of the reasons people hesitate to receive mental health services is limited access to care and negative stigmas deterring them from reaching out.
“One of my biggest motivations for doing this is to get rid of the stigma that surrounds mental health issues,” said McCants, who notes lawyers could greatly benefit from the services offered by DMH and ABMHC due to the high stresses of their job.
In his legal work, McCants aims to not only help with criminal charges, but also help his clients address any mental health issues that may have contributed to their situation.
“Helping people in their mental health recovery quests will have broad reaching consequences, I think, across the CSRA,” said McCants.
“I'm not a historian or mental health expert, but something tells me that back in the day, if you had that diagnosis that we can recognize today, but back then it wasn't recognized, they just threw you in the asylum and called you crazy,” said McCants. “And that's not helpful.”
McCants believes times are changing, and the positive involvement of local law enforcement is a big step in that direction.
On Saturday, December 9, Cultivating Light in the Darkness, walk bringing awareness to suicide prevention and supporting ABMHC, will be held at Veterans Park in Barnwell. This event is brought in part by the Barnwell County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) and partners.
In many instances, 911 is called in the event of a psychiatric emergency. The presence of police can sometimes escalate the situation. In addition, many law enforcement officers are not as equipped to handle a psychiatric emergency like a mental health crisis team may be able to provide.
The involvement of BCSO suggests that they are taking part in reducing statistics– two million individuals with a serious mental illness are booked by law enforcement each year, according to NAMI.
ABMHC has a mobile crisis and access team that responds to those experiencing a psychiatric emergency or in need of evaluation for treatment. Different countries have implemented a mobile mental health team to respond to calls with law enforcement in the event a person requires health services rather than a charge.
According to NAMI, “Mental health crisis services vary depending on where an individual lives. Becoming familiar with the available services and how to access them is an important step towards being prepared for a psychiatric crisis. The better prepared a person is when faced with a crisis situation the better the outcome.”
This includes knowing the locations you can visit and numbers you can call. The Aiken-Barnwell Mental Health Center can be reached at (803) 641-7700, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. For the after-hours crisis line, call 1 (833) 364-2274.
The Polly Best Center is located at 916 Reynolds Rd., Barnwell, South Carolina and reachable at 803.259.7170. Visit the Hartzog Center located at 431 West Martintown Road, North Augusta, S.C. 29841 or call 803-278-0880.
To donate to the Aiken-Barnwell Recovery Foundation, send cash or a check made to ‘Aiken-Barnwell Recovery Foundation’ to Nance and McCants, Attorneys and Counselors at Law at 218 Newberry Street SW, Aiken, S.C. 29802. Donations can also be made directly at the Dec. 9 walk.
