GEMA opens center in Barrow County to help with community needs after high school shooting

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Registration for services at the new Barrow County Community Recovery Center.

Credit: Chase McGee/GPB News

The Georgia Emergency Management Agency opened the Barrow County Community Recovery Center in Winder, Ga., Monday to help meet the financial, legal, spiritual and mental health needs of the community.

"A situation like this is something we’ve thought about, we’ve prepared, but we hoped we never had to deploy," GEMA and Homeland Security Agency Director James C. Stallings said of the Sept. 4 Apalachee High School shooting that killed four people and injured nine others. 

Stallings said while the agency has responded to many natural disasters in the past, this tragedy warrants different resources, because it involves a 14-year-old suspect now charged with four counts of felony murder of teachers and students. 

"You've got kids that have heard sounds and saw things this week that — you just don't brush that off," he said

Stallings is encouraging people to make use of the center even if they aren’t sure they need help.

On its Facebook page, GEMA said the CRC opened Monday at the Barrow County Leisure Services Center on 175 2nd Street in Winder. Starting Tuesday, Sept. 10, the CRC will operate Tuesday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

"The CRC will offer a range of vital resources, including financial assistance, legal services, spiritual and mental health care," the post said. "These services are made possible through partnerships with the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, the American Red Cross, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, Georgia VOAD and various faith-based organizations/houses of worship. Trained volunteers will be available on-site to assist those affected."