The Georgia Department of Veterans Service has partnered with HereNOW Help to bring a free, comprehensive mental health and suicide prevention mobile application to the state’s veterans.
The HereNOW Help platform offers a holistic and personalized approach to mental health support by integrating meditations, daily check-ins, peer community support, chat rooms, on-demand access to clinicians, assessments, treatment plans, fitness tracking and more.
"Veterans face unique challenges when it comes to mental health and suicide risk," Bryan Gray, CEO and co-founder of HereNOW Help, said. "Our initial deployment in various states has helped us gain insights into how to serve our veterans in the best way possible.”
Gerlach struggled against addiction for years and discovered the dire difficulty of finding help when and where you need it most. After his brother’s death from an overdose in 2019, Gerlach created the concept of HereNOW Help to fill the gaps in our health care system.
The platform's advanced AI technology learns each user's unique needs and automatically adjusts content to improve outcomes, create risk scores, send smart alerts and provide real-time human intervention.
The HereNOW Help platform is specifically tailored to veterans and service members. It integrates with existing Veterans Affairs resources such as 988, 211, tele-emergency care line, assigned care teams and Veterans Affairs Medical Centers.
Georgia’s veteran population is the ninth largest in the nation, with an estimated 696,000 veterans living across the state, according to Georgia’s House Budget and Resource Office. Georgia is projected to have the fifth-largest number of veterans by 2040.
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 226 of the 1,589 suicides across the state were from veterans in 2021.
“Even one suicide is too many. Supporting our veterans requires a united effort and the use of innovative technologies can help connect veterans to support,” Georgia Department of Veterans Service Commissioner Patricia Ross said. “This app is a vital step toward saving lives and ensuring Georgia’s veterans get the care they deserve when they need it most.”
If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, contact the Veterans Crisis Line to receive free, confidential support and crisis intervention available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Dial 988 then Press 1, chat online at VeteransCrisisLine.net/Chat, or text 838255.