by Darin Thomas, MHAGC Board President
Happy New Year to the Mental Health America of Greenville County Staff, our Community, and our Allies!
Mental Health America of Greenville County (MHAGC) provides a wide range of services here in Greenville County, including the Representative Payee Program, the Reassurance Line, and Operation Santa Claus. In addition to these local services, MHAGC also serves South Carolinians statewide by operating SC’s 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline alongside our partners, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (BHDD), Office of Mental Health, and the Charleston Dorchester Mental Health Center (CDMHC).
This past year, SC’s 988 services made significant strides. Together, MHAGC and CDMHC answered calls 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, achieving our highest monthly in-state call answer rate of 91%. It is not an overstatement to say that this service saves lives right here in South Carolina.
There is a lot of noise in our world, including social media, current events, work pressures, and family stressors. All of it impacts our well-being. While some of us are fortunate to have strong support systems, many people are not. Last year alone, MHAGC answered more than 22,000 calls.
Some of you reading this may have called 988 in the past year. If you did, I am grateful that you reached out. You matter!
I am also deeply grateful for the MHAGC staff and volunteers who answered those calls. You matter too!
Looking out for one another is essential, and that is exactly what MHAGC does every single day. As we enter 2026, I ask all South Carolinians to take a moment to reach out to your state representatives and thank them for their continued support of South Carolina’s 988 Suicide & Crisis Line. Their commitment to funding this program ensures that when you or a loved one, friend, colleague, or neighbor calls 988, someone in SC will be there to listen with compassion and help connect them to local resources. That matters!
