Fiscal Year
2026 July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026
Mission Offer affordable, accessible, and quality Mental Health, Addictive Disease and Developmental Disability services by skilled professionals who are sensitive to the needs of individuals and families served.
OUR
Vision Leading our communities toward health, hope, & recovery.
Values & Principles •
•
Commitment to equitable treatment at all organization levels and throughout all programs.
•
Committed to recovery-focused, traumainformed and person-centered care.
•
Commitment to care, welfare, safety, security, and satisfaction of the individuals we serve and the employees who serve.
•
•
2
Commitment to individual and organizational efforts to: build respect, dignity, fairness, empathy, and compassion.
We believe each person is unique and services should be based on needs and preferences. Commitment to engagement in community partnerships and whole health.
Aspire BHDD Services Annual Report 2026
TA B L E O F
Contents Mission, Vision, Values & Principles
2
A Message from the CEO
3
Board of Directors & Executive Leadership
4
Story of Hope: Patricus Leggett
6
Featured + New Programs
7
Financials
8
Quality Review Scores
10
Michael Reynolds
10
The Change Center
14
Story of Hope: Reggie Riggins
16
Story of Hope: Meagan Orndorff
19
Story of Hope: Ashley Eady
20
Story of Hope: Daniel Myers
26
A Night to Shine
30
A MESSAGE FROM
OUR CEO One of my favorite things about putting together our annual report each year is having the opportunity to slow down, reflect, and appreciate all that we have accomplished together. At Aspire, our days are busy, the needs are great, and there is always more work to be done. It can be easy to move from one challenge to the next without taking time to recognize just how much good is happening around us.
I continue to be amazed by the dedication and heart of our employees. This work is not always easy, and I know firsthand that it takes patience, compassion, and a tremendous amount of commitment.
Looking back on this year, I am reminded once again of what makes Aspire so special. It isn’t just the programs we offer or the number of people we serve. It is the people behind the work and the lives that are changed because someone took the time to listen, care, and offer hope.
This year brought continued growth, new opportunities, and challenges that required us to be flexible, creative, and resilient. We expanded our efforts to meet emerging community needs, strengthened existing services, and continued to demonstrate our commitment to quality care. Our strong quality review outcomes are something we can all be proud of, but what means even more to me are the stories throughout this report. They remind us that behind every number is a person, a family, and a story that is still being written.
commitment. I am grateful for the way our team continues to rise to the occasion, support one another, and keep the needs of those we serve at the center of everything we do. To our Board of Directors, community partners, and everyone who supports Aspire, thank you for believing in our mission and helping us make this work possible.
As I look ahead, I know there will be new challenges and opportunities, but I am confident in our teams, this organization and the difference we will continue to make together. I am proud of what we have accomplished, grateful for the people I get to work alongside, and excited about what is ahead.
With Gratitude , Dana P. Glass, LCSW Executive Director/CEO Aspire BHDD Services
I am especially proud of the way Aspire continues to show up in our communities. Whether we are providing care during a crisis, supporting someone on their recovery journey, creating opportunities for individuals with developmental disabilities, or simply helping someone find a place where they belong, our work matters. And often, the smallest moments of kindness and connection make the biggest difference. I continue to be amazed by the dedication and heart of our employees. This work is not always easy, and I know firsthand that it takes patience, compassion, and a tremendous amount of
Aspire BHDD Services Annual Report 2026
3
ASPIRE’S 2026
Executive Leadership Aspire BHDD (Albany Area Community Service Board) provides mental health, addictive disease, and developmental disability services to citizens of Dougherty, Baker, Calhoun, Early, Lee, Miller, Terrell, and Worth Counties.
OUR EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TEAM INCLUDES: DANA P. GLASS, LCSW Executive Director/CEO
LISA OOSTERVEEN, LPC Deputy Director
LEE PAVLIK
Chief Financial Officer
MARLISA BAILEY, CARES, CPS-AD
Director of Employee Experience & Change Management
DANIEL FLEUREN, BS, CPS-AD, CARES, FPM
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP
Chief Operations Officer
4
Aspire BHDD Services Annual Report 2026
JENNIFER STEPHENS, LPC
Chief Clinical Officer - Intellectual/ Developmental Disabilities
SANDRA MYERS
Chief Personnel Officer
EDWARD WILLIAMS
Chief Compliance Officer
MALCOLM BYNUM, LPC
Chief Clinical Officer - Behavioral Health
FY26 has shown me that we have a resilient team ready to move this agency forward……forever growing and attracting a workforce that has a desire to be a part of Aspire! Sandra Myers
Chief Personnel Officer
FISCAL YEAR 2026
Board of Directors RICHARD WARE, JR. CHAIRPERSON Dougherty County
MIKE SABOT
VICE CHAIRPERSON Lee County
PAM CONNER
MICHAEL FOWLER
DOUG PATTEN
JEANETTE HENDERSON
JUDGE CAROL SPEIR
SHERIFF WILLIAM PRICE
DAN MILLER
Dougherty County Dougherty County Early County
SEC/TREASURER Calhoun County
JOYCE ALEXANDER
CLINTON JOHNSON
LEIGH RIBOLZI
Dougherty County
Terrell County Terrell County
Worth County
Early County
Miller County
A MESSAGE FROM
With the CSB changes of 2026 now behind us, I look forward to Aspire being able to provide the best services possible to all our served communities. Aspire has the management in place to succeed. Mike is a retired software engineer and consultant who formerly managed Habitat for Humanity International’s global HR and payroll systems. He actively serves his local community as Chairman of the Lee County Board of Elections and Registration and Chairman of the Board of Equalization.
Aspire BHDD Services Annual Report 2026
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OUR FY27 Board Chair
5
A Second Chance at Life PAT R I C U S L E G G E T T | S T O RY O F H O P E
“Today, hope looks like freedom.”
Before things began to change for me, I was living with deep anger, bitterness, betrayal, depression, anxiety, and the weight of unresolved trauma and PTSD. On the outside, I tried to be strong for my family and everyone around me. Inside, I was exhausted. I was trying to pour from an empty cup.
constant distraction. I could sit with myself and think about what I truly wanted for my life. During that time, I made a decision:
Even when I was surrounded by people, I felt completely alone. I began using drugs and alcohol to numb the pain and quiet the thoughts that followed me. Eventually, I reached a point where I no longer wanted to be here.
From there, I began using the resources and support available to me and committed myself to recovery and personal growth. Recovery was not easy. There were setbacks and difficult days, but the journey taught me resilience, strength, and self-worth. I learned that I was worthy of healing, happiness, and a life I once believed was out of reach.
My turning point came after an appointment on a Marine Corps base. While talking with my therapist, I finally admitted how much I was struggling. She immediately referred me to Aspire’s Crisis Stabilization Unit.
I CHOSE TO LIVE, AND I CHOSE FREEDOM.
Aspire became an important part of that journey. I am grateful to Benita Barber for giving me my first opportunity at Aspire and to Whitney Jackson, Caroline Chandler, Teresa Pearson, and Shirley Rouse for their leadership, guidance, and support throughout my growth. I am also grateful to Marlisa Bailey for being someone I can call when I need encouragement and support.
“Sometimes the strongest thing you can do is ask for help.”
Walking through those doors was frightening because accepting help meant letting go of the control I had been trying so hard to hold onto. I was scared, uncertain, and vulnerable. Looking back, I can honestly say that being admitted to Crisis was one of the best decisions anyone ever made for me.
For the first time in a long time, I had space to think. There was no outside noise, no pressure from other people’s expectations, and no 6
Aspire BHDD Services Annual Report 2026
My life today looks completely different. Since leaving Crisis, I have earned my bachelor’s
degree, purchased my first home, and built a life centered on recovery, purpose, and service. I can travel, spend time with my grandchildren, pursue my goals, and help others see that recovery is possible. Today, hope looks like freedom. It means waking up each day with purpose and knowing my past does not define me. It means understanding that the struggles I once wanted to escape have become part of a story that can help someone else keep going. I am especially grateful for what God has done in my life. There was a time when I could not see a future for myself. Today, I can see that every challenge helped shape the person I have become. To anyone facing a difficult season, I want you to know this: Do not give up. There is hope, even when you cannot see it. Asking for help is not weakness; it is courage. Recovery is possible. Healing is possible. The life you envision for yourself is possible. Aspire gave me the support, resources, and second chance I needed at one of the darkest points in my life. Because someone believed in me when I could not believe in myself, I CAN STAND TODAY AS LIVING PROOF THAT RECOVERY WORKS, HOPE IS REAL, AND SECOND CHANCES CAN CHANGE EVERYTHING.
New Programs Crisis Services
Aspire’s crisis continuum provides immediate, 24/7 support for adults experiencing acute mental health or substance use crises. Aspire’s crisis services include the Behavioral Health Crisis Center (BHCC), with its outpatient Crisis Service Center (CSC), the Temporary Observation Unit, and the Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU). Through these coordinated services, individuals can be assessed, stabilized, monitored as needed, and connected to the most appropriate next level of care, with a focus on safety, recovery, and continuity of care.
More than 40% of individuals assessed through Aspire’s crisis services were able to avoid CSU admission and return to communitybased care. This includes individuals who received Temporary Observation and were then safely transitioned back to the community.
Terrell Lawson
Behavioral Health Crisis Center (BHCC)
Aspire’s Behavioral Health Crisis Center provides immediate, 24/7 support for adults experiencing acute mental health or substance use crises. Open 365 days a year, the center offers walk-in access, referrals from emergency departments, and involuntary evaluations, serving as a critical alternative to emergency room visits when appropriate. Services focus on assessment, stabilization, safety, and connection to next steps.
Crisis Service Center (CSC) The Crisis Service Center is the outpatient level of care within Aspire’s Behavioral Health Crisis Center (BHCC). It provides assessment and support for individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis. When admission to the Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU) is not necessary, individuals can be connected to appropriate community-based treatment and resources.
Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU) Aspire’s 30-bed, 24/7 residential stabilization unit provides short-term care, typically 5 to 7 days, for adults experiencing mental health crises or requiring detoxification. Services include medical monitoring, therapeutic support, and discharge planning to help individuals stabilize and transition safely to the next level of care.
Temporary Observation Unit (Temp Obs)
Aspire’s Temporary Observation Unit provides up to 7 days of care in a safe, supportive environment for individuals in crisis who need further evaluation before the most appropriate level of care can be determined. Supports may include psychiatric evaluation and treatment, nursing assessment, medication management, crisis intervention and de-escalation, case management, peer support, withdrawal monitoring, and discharge planning.
BHCC Clinical Coordinator
Aspire BHDD Services Annual Report 2026
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Featured +
7
Medicaid
Aspire by the Numbers
INDIVIDUALS BY GENDER
ASPIRE BY THE NUMBERS
SERVICE BY PROGRAM
8
Ma
Adult Mental Health
29,663
Crisis Stabilization Unit - Mental Health
23,572
DD Day Center
23,246
Touchstone
18,802
Assertive Community Treatment
16,076
C & A Mental Health
15,103
Crisis Stabilization Unit - Substance Abuse
10,440
PEER MENTAL HEALTH
9,686
Crisis Service Center
9,577
Clubhouse
9,126
DD Residential
9,029
Temporary Observation
5,840
SERVICE BY ORGANIZATION
RISE
4,697
BHCC
Treatment Court - South
4,658
Dougherty County
Adult Substance Abuse
2,634
APEX 1
2,616
100 Child and Adolescent Dougherty
Forensics
2,301
45.3%
54.7%
Male
45.3% 45.3%
100
54.7%
100
90
September 2024
Residential
80
1,900
Treatment Court - North
1,895
APEX 3
1,718
Shelter Plus Care
1,606
Community Support Team
1,510
Psycho Social Rehabilitation
1,463
Forensic Apartment
Supported Employment Behavioral Health
1,452
70 - DD Harding
Evolve
1,348
Crisis Respite
1,326
EMERGE
1,066
Crisis Stabilization Unit-Transitional Bed
740
Journey 1 (Male) CRR3
585
CORE
384
IDD INDIVIDUALS & SERVICES
Journey 2 (Female) CRR3
112
Service
Dougherty County Accountability Court
82
CRA FEP
80
Accountability Court Subset
55
Youth Homeless
45
C & A Substance Abuse
6
86%
2024 Primus Day Center
INCREASE
84%10
April 2025 80 Calhoun 84%Early Miller Day Center April 2025
Terrell/Lee Day Center
Journey April 1 (Male)
N
POINT
April 2025
16,067 November 2025
60
10
November 202515,758
87%
POINT April 2025
11,152 November 2025
87%
INCREASE
November 2025 8,793
66%
7,000
81%
17 81% POINT
1,934 724
April 2025
585
Journey 2 (Female)66% 2025
112
66% TOTAL60
218,591
60
Activities
Clients
Calhoun Early Miller Day Center
8,793
28
Harding - DD
724
1
Primus Day Center
15,758
60
Terrell/Lee Day Center
7,000
39
GRAND TOTAL
32,275
108
Client counts by location may overlap. 108 is the unduplicated total. Aspire BHDD Services Annual Report 2026
POINT
24,22094%
INCREASE
70
POINT
70
10
April 2025 94% 20,219 8
Integrated Care
80
N
INCREASE
September 90 2024 Treatment Assertive Community
86%
25,444
84%
2,040
Peer/PSR
36,405 INCREASE
April 2025
Intensive Treatment Residential - CRR LEVEL 1
September
50,178
86%
Early County 90
Female
54.7% Female
2,111
218,591
62%
Male
APEX 2
TOTAL
Fe
INCRE
17
POIN
1.2%
0.6% 1.2%
ACCOUNTABILITY COURTS
0.6%
PAYER MIX
11.9%
82
Pataula North + South
6,553
TOTAL
6,635
11.9%
Commercial / Private Medicare
Commercial / Private
28.5%
57.7% 28.5%
150,000
Medicare
State Contracted Services Non-Billable
57.7%
Medicaid
State Contracted Services
SERVICES BY COUNTY OF RESIDENCE
150,000
Medicaid
120,000
121,065
120,000
90,000
90,000
Commercial / Private 60,000
2%
60,000
47%
Non-Billable
1,791
State Contracted Services 0 Baker
Medicaid
Calhoun
18,545
15,780
6,789
45.3%
Dougherty
45.3% 54.7%
Early
62%
Male
5,549 54.7%
Male
150,000
9,291 30,000 5,314 Female Female
Miller 120,000 Terrell
Lee
121,065
6,
Baker 5.7% 65+
Ca
1,791
Worth
0
14.1% 5 to 12
INDIVIDUALS BY AGE Commercial / Private 47%
Non-Billable
INDIVIDUALS BY DEMOGRAPHICS State Contracted Services Medicaid
13.4% 27.6% 39.2% 13 to 17 18 to 35 36 to 64 90,000
100
Medicare
60,000
100
94%
90
2%
September 2024
36%
2%
70
62%
3,054
36%
2,275
POINT
POINT
November 2025
POINT
November 2025
8
96%96% Latest
Latest Latest Latest
POINT
INCREASE
Latest
INCREASE
Latest
POINT
POINT
April 2025
April 2025
Lee Pavlik CFO
6066%
Other
INCREASE
November 2025
April 2025
Black/African American 3,088
White/Caucasian Black/African American
2,458
April 2025
66% White/Caucasian 60
3,000
INCREASE
November 2025
INCREASE
70 Other
62%
April 2025
September 2024
April 2025
80
94%
In every area30,000 of the agency,8 I continue 90 92%15,780 92% 86% 6,789 grit, to be inspired by the relentless 1,791 86% 10 87% 0 10 87% determination, teamwork, creativity, 84% 17 83% Early Baker 8084% 17Calhoun Dougherty 83% 81% and passion to accomplish the Aspire 81% mission of serving individuals in need. INCREASE
rican
2%
62%
Medicare 30,000
47
Non-Billable
TOTAL SERVICE ACTIVITIES
218,591
2,233 Aspire BHDD Services Annual Report 2026
ASPIRE BY THE NUMBERS
Dougherty County Accountability Court
Cris
Crisis S
9
B
Beha
Quality Review Scores Aspire’s latest quality reviews show strong performance across behavioral health, crisis stabilization, and housing services, with all three latest overall scores exceeding the FY25 statewide averages shown in the supporting review reports.
Behavioral Health Quality Review (BHQR) Crisis Stabilization Unit Quality Review (CSU QR) • • •
Overall Score
92%
Individual Record Review: 92% Service Guidelines: 100% Focused Outcome Areas: 97%
Overall Score
96%
• • • •
Billing Validation: 87% Focused Outcome Areas: 96% Assessment & Planning: 92% Service Guidelines: 91%
Housing Quality Review (HQR) • • • •
Billing Validation: 42% Site Visit: 100% Assessment & Planning: 95% Service Guidelines: 93%
Notable Strengths FROM ROCK BOTTOM TO REBUILDING
•
CSU earned 100% in Service Guidelines and 97% in Focused Outcome Areas.
•
Housing earned 100% on the Site Visit, 95% in Assessment & Planning, and 93% in Service Guidelines.
•
Behavioral Health earned 96% in Focused Outcome Areas and 92% in Assessment & Planning.
For years, Michael Reynolds struggled with addiction until his life felt hopeless. He had lost his job, could not find another position in IT, felt he had disappointed himself and his family, and continued getting into trouble with the law. After facing serious consequences following another legal setback, someone told him about Accountability Court. He applied, was accepted, and says the day he entered the program became his turning point. 10
Aspire BHDD Services Annual Report 2026
Accountability Court also began Michael’s relationship with Aspire. As he moved through the program, he says his mind began to clear and he started seeing his life differently. He worked three jobs during that season: first on a farm, then at a peanut plant, and finally with Aspire’s IT department, where he began working after completing the program. Today, Michael describes his life as more balanced, hopeful, and engaged. His relationships are healthier,
62%
Male
62% 36% Female FY25 Statewide Comparison With Overall Averages Male
45.3%
54.7%
3 percentage points higher 54.7%
45.3%
80 70
Female
92%89% Aspire’s Score
Statewide Average
100
100
80 90
Female 54.7% Male
54.7%
100
90
September 2024 April 2025 September 2024
84% 86%
90
84%
10
September 2024
10
86%
POINT INCREASE
80
10 84% POINT
April 2025
April 2025 April 2025
83% 60 70
70
April 2025
66%
60 60
83%69%
Aspire’s Score
94%
INCREASE
8
81% 87%
November 2025
87% 81%
November 2025
60
8
INCREASE POINT
17 POINT
INCREASE
10 POINT
INCREASE
17
POINT INCREASE
17 POINT
94% April 2025
96% 92%
8
Latest
Latest Latest
POINT
Latest Latest
92%
92% Latest November 202583% 92%
87%
Latest
POINT
81% 83%
Latest
INCREASE
Latest 17 83%
November 2025
Statewide Average
96%
INCREASE
96% Latest
Black/Afri
Housing 83% Crisis Stabilization Unit Housing Housing Behavioral Health Crisis Stabilization Unit
April 2025
66%
66%
POINT INCREASE
November 2025 April 2025 November 2025 November 2025
96% Latest Latest
INCREASE
8
Aspire’s Score
Statewide Average
POINT
94% 87%
81%
66%
April 2025
96%89% April 2025
POINT
INCREASE
86% 84%
April 2025
14 percentage points higher
94%
INCREASE
White/Ca Black/Afri
HQR
7 percentage points higher
November 2025
86%
Other White/Ca
36%
CSU QRFemale
April 2025
September 2024
80 Overall Score 70
62%
Male
BHQR 45.3%
45.3%
90 100
Other Black/Afri
Crisis Stabilization Unit
Crisis
Behavioral Health
Trend From Earlier Reviews
Behavioral Health
his confidence has grown, and he has become more independent in his thinking and finances. He credits Aspire, the friends and family who supported his recovery, and his faith in God with helping him continue to move forward. Hope now looks like continued growth in his career, health, faith, and relationships. Michael wants to keep becoming a better employee, friend, son, father, and husband while rebuilding what addiction once took from him.
Choose a better life and pursue God. Look for a reason to be grateful every day. Show up every day and pursue the change. – Michael Reynolds 11 Aspire BHDD Services Annual Report 2026
Be
Addiction Recovery Awareness Day (ARAD) 2026
Making Recovery Visible: Aspire Advocates at the Georgia State Capitol
STATEWIDE ADVOCACY
On January 28, 2026, Aspire BHDD Services joined Georgia’s statewide recovery community in Atlanta for Addiction Recovery Awareness Day (ARAD), Georgia’s largest annual recovery advocacy event. Nearly 15 Aspire peer staff in recovery and more than 20 individuals receiving Aspire services traveled from Southwest Georgia to participate in the recovery rally at the Georgia Freight Depot and advocacy activities at the Georgia State Capitol. Aspire participants helped bring lived experience into statewide conversations about prevention, treatment, recovery supports, and long-term recovery. Team members connected with state leaders and legislators, represented the needs and voices of Southwest Georgia, and stood alongside recovery advocates from across the state to demonstrate that recovery is visible, possible, and worth investing in.
12
Aspire BHDD Services Annual Report 2026
Mental Health Day at the Capitol 2026 On February 18, 2026, Aspire BHDD Services joined mental health advocates from across Georgia for Mental Health Day at the Capitol. Organized by the Behavioral Health Services Coalition, the annual event brings together people in recovery, families, service providers, community organizations, first responders, faith leaders, and other advocates to raise awareness and strengthen the voice of mental health in statewide policy conversations. Aspire representatives participated in the day’s advocacy activities at the Georgia State Capitol, helping ensure that the needs and experiences of individuals and families in Southwest Georgia were represented alongside voices from across the state. Our participation reflects Aspire’s commitment to reducing stigma, supporting access to care, and staying engaged in the public conversations that shape behavioral health services in Georgia.
CSB Day at the Capitol 2026
Aspire Advocates for Community-Based Services at the Georgia State Capitol
Aspire leaders connected with Rep. Gerald Greene during CSB Day at the Capitol
Aspire’s Executive Leadership Team met with state leaders, including Rep. Gerald Greene, a longtime advocate for Aspire and the communities we serve. These conversations help keep the needs of Southwest Georgia visible at the state level while strengthening relationships with the policymakers whose decisions affect behavioral health and developmental disability services across Georgia.
STATEWIDE ADVOCACY
On February 27, 2026, Aspire BHDD Services represented Southwest Georgia at the annual CSB Day at the Capitol in Atlanta. Hosted by the Georgia Association of Community Service Boards, the event brings Community Service Board leaders to the Georgia State Capitol during the legislative session to connect directly with lawmakers and advocate for strong community-based mental health, substance use, and intellectual and developmental disability services.
Aspire BHDD Services Annual Report 2026
13
Recovery in the streets On September 27, 2025, Aspire’s Change Center hosted the sixth annual Recovery in the Streets celebration in downtown Albany as part of National Recovery Month. More than 1,000 people attended, making it the largest Recovery Month celebration in Georgia. The event brought together people in recovery, families, peer supporters, community partners, service providers, vendors, musicians, and local supporters for an evening centered on hope, connection, and the visibility of recovery. Recovery stories, live entertainment, family activities, community resources, and the Georgia Recovers bus helped create a public celebration that showed recovery as something lived openly in families and communities.
THE CHANGE CENTER
Recovery in the Streets reflects the Change Center’s role as more than a service location. It creates space for people with lived experience to be seen, heard, and celebrated while connecting the broader community to recovery supports and to one another. Growing attendance from approximately 600 in 2023 and 800 in 2024 to more than 1,000 in 2025 also demonstrates the event’s expanding reach and statewide significance.
14
Aspire BHDD Services Annual Report 2026
47%
Baker Medicare Calhoun es Non-Billable
0
47%
Change Center Service Activity Baker
Calhoun
0
Medicaid
96%
2%
Latest Latest
Other
36% rican American
92%
White/Caucasian
Latest
Black/African36% American
ATTENDANCE
3,054
Housing
3000 2,275
3500
2000 993 8
66
POINT
92%
1500
2,330
7
2
529QUARTER 3 Housing 47 7,076 Total 500
NT
53
500
2,458
3000
Miller
Terrell
Worth
3,088
2,233
1,672
QUARTER 4
53 5,512 Total EDUCATIONAL QUARTER 2 QUARTER 529 3 Housing 47 SERVICES Crisis Stabilization Unit 9,319 Total 500 7,076 Total
1500
2,233 529
TRANSPORTATION SUPPORTS
912
802
742
703
520
Social Supports 3,000
2,458 QUARTER 1 Recovery Meetings 912
993
3,088
3,054
10,529 Total
3,088
3,054 2,233
47 Social Supports
2,233
QUARTER 2
53
78 QUARTER 3
Social Supports
Transportation 1,906 2,275
9,319 Total
7,076 Total
2,233
QUARTER 4 5,512 Total
Community 802 Collaborations Recovery Meetings
Transportation 1,906
Social Supports
520 1,672 First Contacts 742 1,099 703 993
912 Community Collaborations 802
Recovery Meetings
Transportation
Social Supports
First Contacts520
912 Community Collaborations 802
Recovery Meetings
Transportation
Community 802Collaborations
Recovery Meetings
First 520 Contacts
Community Collaborations
1,166
78
742 Totals are shown as reported 703 and 1,099 may993include additional supports not listed as separate categories.
1000
0 QUARTER 1 QUARTER 2 Crisis Stabilization Unit 9,319 Total 500 Behavioral Health 10,529 Total 0 QUARTER 1 10,529 Total
1,099
3,088
2500 802
1,166
347
Lee
3,054
Transportation 2,275 1,906
520 1,672 742 1,099 2000 993
Behavioral Health
Early
1,906
0
703
1000
Dougherty
2,275
3500
78
83%
9,291
2,458
1000
1,906 2,275
912
1500
Latest
1000
EASE
Calhoun
1,166
2000
1,166
5,314
1500
PEER CHECK-INS 1,672
6,789 Lee Dougherty 1,791 Early
Black/African American
96%Behavioral Health 703 1,099 993 742
9,291 5,314 15,780 18,545 5,549 Miller Terrell Worth
2000
1,906
Latest Latest
5,549
0 Comparison of reported activities and total supports across Quarters 1-4
2500
3,000
4,091
Worth
3000
3,054 2,233
2500
99
Calhoun
Terrell
3,000
3000
INCREASE
Baker
Baker
3,088
2,458 Crisis Stabilization Unit
2500
Miller
30,000
3500
83%RECOVERY MEETING 3,000
6,789 Lee
White/Caucasian
3,088
3500
Early 1,791
9,291 5,314 15,780 18,545
Other
12,209
62%
5,549
0
QUARTER 4 53 5,512 Total
529 QUARTER 3 47 7,076 Total
QUARTER 2 9,319 Total
QUARTER 1
10,529 Total
QUARTER 4 53 5,512 Total 47
QUARTER 3 7,076 Total
QUARTER 2 9,319 Total
912
520 First Contacts 742 703
78
78 53
QUARTER 4 5,512 Total
First Contacts
78
QUARTER 3 7,076 Total
QUARTER 4 5,512 Total
7,195
COMMUNITY COLLABORATIONS
34,074
ARSC CONTACTS/ TOTAL SERVICES AND SUPPORTS
721
UNDUPLICATED INDIVIDUALS SERVED
2025 Stakeholder Award Alesha Burgman, Director of The Change Center, received the Georgia Department of Community Supervision’s 2025 Stakeholder Award. The statewide recognition honors community partners whose service, partnership, and work support successful outcomes and strengthen public safety across Georgia. Aspire BHDD Services Annual Report 2026
THE CHANGE CENTER
aucasian
60,000 Worth
Quarterly Program Services & Support
Dougherty
State Contracted Services
%
15,780 Terrell
6,789 Miller Lee 30,000
Early 1,791
Dougherty
15
Story of Hope: Reggie Riggins
I’m Not a Seed Anymore My name is Reginald Riggins. I came from a home full of some not-so-good things, but I believe my future is full of greatness and righteousness. The 4-H program has given me amazing experiences and adventures that helped me grow. It taught me to think with my brain but think of others, to love with my heart, to work hard with my hands, and to earn what I need or want. Most importantly, I’ve learned to heal. Life has been full of trials and tribulations, but my grandma, Mr. Marlon, Aspire Clubhouse Manager, and Mr. Woodie saw potential in me. They helped me see something I had not seen before: a future. It made me smile and cry, and it brought me joy. I think of myself like a plant. I started as a seed, but I’m not a seed anymore. My grandma nurtured me, and Mr. Marlon, Aspire Clubhouse Manager, and Mr. Woodie helped me grow. I’ve grown, and I’m still growing.
Reginald “Reggie” Riggins is a youth receiving services through Aspire Clubhouse. His Story of Hope centers on growth, healing, opportunity, gratitude, faith, and the people who helped him begin to see a future for himself. As long as I have air in my lungs, a heart that beats with love, a mind that thinks, and a soul that knows the truth, my life and my purpose are not over. My faith is also a big part of who I am. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit have helped me live, learn, love, and grow. I am a product of God’s greatness, goodness, and glory, and I am grateful. I’ve learned to give credit when credit is due. I want every person who has helped me, supported me, blessed me, or believed in me to know that they have my gratitude. This isn’t just my story. These are the people, the faith, and the morals that stand by my side, and I stand by theirs.
I am Reginald Riggins. This is part of my origin, but it is not where my story ends.
16
Aspire BHDD Services Annual Report 2026
When employees feel seen, heard, and valued, it strengthens how they show up for one Two Decades of Compassion & Commitment another and for the Aspire celebrated Linder Reddick for individuals we 20 years of service to the organization. Across two decades, Linder has brought serve. Building creativity, compassion, and dedication to her a strong work, helping support programs, individuals served, and the teams around her. culture is not Her milestone reflects the value of long-term separate from service and the experience, relationships, and institutional knowledge that employees build our mission. It is over time. Linder’s commitment is part of the people-centered foundation that helps Aspire part of how we continue serving communities across Southwest Georgia. accomplish it.
Linder Reddick
Twenty years of service is more than a work anniversary. It represents sustained commitment to Aspire’s mission and the people we serve. Recognizing long-serving employees helps show the human side of the organization and the continuity behind our programs and services.
Marlisa Bailey DEECM
DEVELOPING LEADERS FROM WITHIN
Aspire continued investing in employee growth and leadership development during FY26 through two pathways within the Aspire Leadership Academy.
FY26 also included the Aspire Leadership Academy Leader Track, a five-month development experience designed specifically for current managers. Meeting monthly for focused half-day sessions, participants strengthened leadership skills, reflected on leadership practices, and grew alongside colleagues from across Aspire. The Leader Track cohort graduated on December 16, 2025. Together, Aspire Leadership Academy and Leader Track reflect Aspire’s commitment to developing employees from within, strengthening leadership capacity, and creating meaningful opportunities for employees at different stages of their careers to learn, grow, and lead. Aspire BHDD Services Annual Report 2026
PEOPLE & CULTURE
The Aspire Leadership Academy, Leadership Academy Graduates June 25, 2026 pictured here, is a six-month program open to employees at all levels who want to deepen their understanding of Aspire’s behavioral health, addiction, and intellectual and developmental disability services while exploring introductory leadership development. Participants meet one full day each month, gaining firsthand knowledge of programs across the organization, building professional connections, and strengthening leadership knowledge and skills.
17
Celebrating Recovery at Touchstone Completing a year-long recovery program is more than reaching the end of a treatment plan. It represents months of showing up, doing the work, navigating challenges, building new skills, and choosing recovery one day at a time.
Aspire Earns Statewide System of Care Merit Award Prestigious Honor Celebrates Aspire’s Dedication to Coordinated, Family-Centered Care Strategies
Throughout FY26, Aspire had the privilege of celebrating individuals who completed the 12-month program at Touchstone, our long-term residential treatment program for adults with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders. Touchstone provides a structured and supportive environment where individuals can focus on recovery while developing the skills, confidence, and stability needed for life beyond residential treatment.
PROGRAM RECOGNITION
In June 2026, Aspire BHDD Services was recognized at the 19th Annual Georgia System of Care Academy Conference in Stone Mountain, Georgia, where Aspire’s Community Impact Program received the 2026 System of Care Grantee Merit Award.
18
The statewide award recognizes a System of Care grantee that has effectively used grant funding to strengthen implementation of the System of Care philosophy by expanding resources, education, services, and supports for families and communities. Aspire’s recognition reflects the Community Impact Program’s contribution to strengthening coordinated, family- and communitycentered supports within Georgia’s System of Care.
TRANSLATING FUNDING INTO COMMUNITY IMPACT This is more than conference participation. It is statewide recognition of Aspire’s program work and the way grant resources are being translated into meaningful supports for families and communities. Aspire BHDD Services Annual Report 2026
Graduation is one of the moments that reminds us why this work matters. Behind every certificate is a story of perseverance, growth, accountability, restored hope, and countless small victories that led to something much bigger. For the Touchstone team, families, supporters, and the Aspire community, it is an incredible privilege to witness these milestones and, sometimes, what can only be described as miracles happening right in front of us. Recovery is real, and every Touchstone graduate is evidence of what can happen when an individual is given the time, support, structure, and opportunity to keep moving forward.
A Life I Never Knew Was Possible
Meagan Orndorff’s Story of Faith, Healing, and Second Chances My name is Meagan, and I am a person living in long-term recovery from alcoholism and drug addiction. For many years, addiction controlled nearly every part of my life. I began using substances at a young age, and what started as a way to escape eventually became something I could not escape from. I damaged relationships with the people I loved most and reached a point where I did not believe recovery was possible for someone like me. I had tried treatment before. In 2010, I entered treatment for the first time. I did not remain sober, but something important happened there: seeds were planted. I was introduced to the idea that another way of living might be possible, even though I was not ready to choose it yet. By Christmas Day 2016, addiction had taken so much from me that I could not even see my children. For the first time in a long time, I prayed and asked God to put me on the right path and deliver me from the life I was living.
My recovery date is December 26, 2016. I entered a faith-based treatment program in Alabama, and for the first time in my life, I finished something. Early recovery taught me that putting down drugs and alcohol was only the beginning. I had to learn an entirely new way of living. I learned how to be present. I could have conversations with my children and remember them. I began rebuilding my relationship with God, taking responsibility for my life, and learning how to forgive myself. One of the most important lessons I learned was that recovery was not about spending the rest of my life paying for my past. It was about allowing God to use it. After graduating from treatment, I made a difficult decision. I did not immediately come home. I stayed and worked for the program for another 15 months because I knew my recovery had to become the foundation on which everything else would be rebuilt. In June 2019, I knew it was time to come home to Georgia. Coming home gave me something addiction had taken away: the opportunity to truly show up. I could be there for my children and begin rebuilding relationships. That August, I started working at Aspire and became connected to a 12-step recovery community. Today, I do not simply exist without drugs or alcohol. I live in recovery.
Recovery has taught me that showing up matters. Today, I show up for my children, my husband, my family, my coworkers, our organization, and the people we serve. I have built a career I am proud of, earned my college degree, and built relationships I once did not believe I deserved. For someone who once believed she could not finish anything, those accomplishments mean more than any title or piece of paper. They remind me what becomes possible when you keep showing up, one day at a time. Now, I am just a few months shy of 10 years of continuous recovery. Nearly 10 years of waking up and choosing recovery. Nearly 10 years of keeping commitments, growing in my faith, loving my family, and being present for my own life. One of the greatest gifts of recovery is being able to stand in front of someone who is where I once was and tell them with absolute certainty that people do recover. A person’s worst day does not have to become the rest of their story. I know because I am living proof. My favorite thing to tell someone who is struggling is simple: “If I can do it, so can you.” My past is part of my story, but it no longer defines me. Today, my story is about recovery, restoration, faith, family, purpose, and hope.
What once felt like a mess has become my message. And today, I know that I am enough.
Recovery didn’t simply give me my old life back. It gave me a life I had never known was possible.
Ashley Eady
A Story of Hope, Determination, & Independence Ashley Eady’s story is one of perseverance, growth, and what can happen when an individual is given the opportunity and support to succeed. Ashley receives services through Aspire’s Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) Program. While he has faced physical and intellectual disabilities, those challenges have never defined who he is or determined what he is capable of accomplishing. Instead, Ashley continues to demonstrate what is possible when determination, encouragement, patience, and meaningful support come together. For more than four years, Ashley has worked successfully at Burger King. To some, that may sound like simply having a job. For Ashley, his family, and those who support him, it represents much more. His employment represents responsibility, independence, personal growth, community participation, and the dignity that comes from meaningful work. Ashley takes that responsibility seriously. He knows what is expected of him once he arrives, too. “I mop, sweep, and keep the tables clean,” Ashley said. And independence does not mean doing everything alone. Ashley understands that asking for help when he needs it is also part of being successful. “My supervisor helps when I need it,” he explained. Over the years, Ashley has learned and consistently followed workplace expectations, completed his assigned responsibilities, and built positive relationships with coworkers and supervisors. With minimal employment support, he has demonstrated that he can perform his responsibilities with a high degree of independence.
STORY OF HOPE
His mother, Kay Eady, has watched that growth with tremendous pride. For Ashley’s family, his success is reflected not only in the work he performs, but also in the way he continues to show up, follow through, learn new responsibilities, and keep moving forward.
20
Aspire BHDD Services Annual Report 2026
“As Ashley’s parents, we are extremely proud of him,” Kay said. “We are proud of the employee he has become, but even more importantly, we are proud of the person he is.” Tuwanna Hill, Ashley’s Care Plan Coordinator, describes his continued employment as “a significant accomplishment” and a reflection of “his commitment to being a productive member of his community.” That accomplishment has created growth that reaches far beyond the workplace. During his years of employment, Ashley has increased his confidence, strengthened his decision-making skills, and continued
developing greater independence. He takes pride in earning his own income and being responsible for an area of his life that matters to him. His job is not simply somewhere he goes each day. It is one of the ways Ashley participates in his community and continues building a life of greater self-sufficiency. Ashley’s journey is also a reminder that success does not have one definition. Sometimes success is steady progress. Sometimes it is learning a new responsibility, showing up consistently, asking for help when it is needed, earning a paycheck, or discovering that you are capable of doing something others may not have expected.
Expanding Access to Life-Saving Overdose Response Tools Partnering with Miss Teen Albany August Turner, Aspire Installs Free, Anonymous OAK Box at Dougherty County Outpatient Location Aspire strengthened community overdose response in FY26 with the installation of an OAK (Overdose Aid Kit) Box at the Dougherty County Outpatient location, 601 W. 11th Ave. in Albany. The secure, weather-resistant box provides free, anonymous access to naloxone and other overdose response resources whenever they are needed. The OAK Box was sponsored by Miss Teen Albany, August Turner, whose commitment to overdose awareness grew from personal loss. The Change Center partnered with August and her family to bring the resource to the community, creating a practical point of access while reinforcing the message that every life matters and help should be available without stigma.
DRIVING OUR FY26 MISSION FORWARD This installation turns overdose awareness into immediate, life-saving access. It reflects Aspire’s commitment to harm reduction, community partnership, stigma reduction, and making overdose response tools easier to reach when every minute matters.
For individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, opportunities paired with support tailored to their needs can open doors to meaningful outcomes. Ashley’s experience shows how trust, encouragement, practice, and the belief that every individual has something valuable to contribute can help build independence.
COMMUNITY IMPACT
Most importantly, this is Ashley’s story. He enjoys his work. He takes pride in what he does. And he wants to continue working for as long as he can. Four years of employment are worth celebrating, but Ashley’s Story of Hope is bigger than a number. It is about perseverance. Growth. Responsibility. Belonging. And the opportunity to build a life in which his abilities, contributions, and goals are recognized.
Ashley continues to remind those around him to look beyond disability and see ability, potential, and purpose.
Aspire BHDD Services Annual Report 2026
21
EXPERIENCE THAT STRENGTHENS ASPIRE At the close of FY26, 36 Aspire employees had reached at least 10 years of service, representing 570 combined years of experience across the organization. Their longevity reflects decades of knowledge, relationships, commitment, and service that continue to strengthen Aspire’s work across Southwest Georgia. From direct care and crisis services to intellectual and developmental disability services, administration, care coordination, accountability courts, and community-based programs, these employees represent an important part of Aspire’s history and continued growth.
25 Years
10 Years
Sonya Taylor
Pamela Truesdale Angie S. Williams Larry Everson Joe W. Scott Floyd Jones Jr. Elesea C. Sutton Meredith E. Harrison Jennifer Stephens
20 Years Linder J. Reddick Lillian Tooley
15 Years Lisa Oosterveen
Our work is measured not only by how efficiently we operate, but by how effectively we serve people. I work for our employees - the people who help people Daniel Fleuren COO
22
Aspire BHDD Services Annual Report 2026
Looking Ahead EXPANDING CARE. STRENGTHENING PATHWAYS TO RECOVERY. As Aspire moves into FY27, two new programs will help address gaps in care for individuals facing serious mental health and substance use challenges. Both focus on connecting individuals with the right support at critical moments and helping them build greater stability in their communities.
One-Eighty Program Recovery support should not begin only when someone leaves jail. One-Eighty will connect with individuals experiencing substance use disorders while they are incarcerated at Dougherty County Jail and help them prepare for a successful transition back into the community. The program will provide screening, individualized recovery planning, peer recovery support, and care coordination. It will also connect participants with treatment, including medications for opioid use disorder when appropriate, and practical resources such as housing, employment, transportation, and benefits. Working alongside jail and community partners, One-Eighty aims to reduce overdose risk, strengthen continuity of care, and support lasting recovery after release. Together, these programs reflect Aspire’s commitment to reaching individuals when support matters most and creating stronger pathways to treatment, recovery, and community stability.
Assisted Outpatient Treatment AOT is Aspire’s new Assisted Outpatient Treatment program for adults living with serious mental illness in Dougherty, Lee, and Terrell counties. For individuals who have experienced repeated hospitalizations, homelessness, justice involvement, or difficulty staying connected to treatment, the program provides a structured, court-supported path to care while they remain in the community. Through partnerships with courts, hospitals, treatment providers, and community organizations, AOT will coordinate treatment and ongoing support to help individuals stay engaged in care, build stability, and reduce the need for repeated crisis services.
Turning Awareness into Action and Belonging On March 20, 2026, Aspire BHDD Services celebrated IDD Awareness Month with a Spring Fling and Talent Show centered on the strengths, abilities, voices, and personalities of the individuals we serve. The event created a joyful space for participants to perform, connect with one another, and be recognized in front of peers, staff, families, and supporters. The celebration reflected Aspire’s broader IDD Awareness message, The Power of Poss-ABILITY, by shifting the focus from limitations to talent, choice, confidence, self-expression, and belonging. Participants took the microphone, shared their gifts, cheered one another on, and helped turn awareness into something visible and personal.
WHY THIS MATTERS FOR FY26
IDD AWARENESS
This was more than an awareness-month activity. It demonstrated what inclusion looks like when people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are given space to be seen, heard, celebrated, and fully themselves. The Spring Fling and Talent Show brought community, creativity, recognition, and joy together in one experience while reinforcing Aspire’s commitment to person-centered services and meaningful participation.
24
FY26 was a year of change, growth, and resilience for IDD Services. Through every transition, we stayed true to our mission, vision, and values, continuing to serve with purpose, compassion, and a commitment to supporting people in ways that reflect their choices, strengths and goals. Jennifer Stephens LPC, CCO-IDD
Aspire BHDD Services Annual Report 2026
2026 GACSB SPRING FLING
Aspire Brings Leadership, Lived Experience & Learning Aspire team members joined behavioral health professionals, peers, and individuals from across Georgia for the 2026 Georgia Association of Community Service Boards Spring Fling, Waves of Recovery, at Epworth by the Sea on St. Simons Island. During the three-day gathering, Aspire did more than attend. Employees from program coordination, training, director-level leadership, and executive leadership contributed as presenters and panelists, sharing practical knowledge and recovery-informed perspectives with colleagues from across the state. Trysh Fleuren led a session on overdose prevention, helping participants recognize risks and understand how informed action can save lives. Gwen Lacy, T&L Community Support Day Coordinator, also served as a conference presenter, representing the expertise and leadership found throughout Aspire’s programs. Executive Director Dana Glass, Chief Operations Officer Daniel Fleuren, and Director of Employee Experience & Change Management Marlisa Bailey participated in the “From Peer to Leader” panel, sharing perspectives on recovery, mentorship, professional growth, and the value of elevating lived experience within behavioral health leadership.
Aspire’s participation reflected an important part of its culture:
LEADERSHIP AND EXPERTISE ARE NOT LIMITED TO JOB TITLES. By creating opportunities for employees at multiple levels to teach, speak, and lead, Aspire contributed to statewide learning while demonstrating the strength of a workforce shaped by experience, service, and a shared commitment to recovery.
Aspire BHDD Services Annual Report 2026
25
Daniel Myers
From Survival to Purpose
For most of my life, I knew how to survive. I did not always know how to live. I grew up in poverty and in environments where being tough felt necessary. I started boxing when I was about six years old and later learned other forms of martial arts. Somewhere along the way, strength became connected to being the person no one wanted to challenge.
I became the kid parents warned their children about. Looking back, I can see that much of my life was spent running from things I did not want to face within myself. Instead of dealing with depression, pain, and the things I did not like about myself, I found ways to escape them. Substance use became part of that escape, and eventually the streets became a place where I knew how to function.
For a long time, I believed that was simply who I was. Then I watched someone who had lived much like I had make a completely different choice. He stepped away from that life, moved away, built a family, and started doing well. I remember thinking, Good for him. Then I thought, I want that. I wasn’t ready yet, but watching him showed me something I desperately needed to know.
CHANGE WAS POSSIBLE. My own turning point did not happen all at once. There were consequences, losses, and moments when I had to face just how far my life had gone from the person I wanted to be. During one of the most difficult periods of my life, I began talking seriously to God.
I realized I had been given another chance. Staying on a different path was not easy. At one particularly difficult point, when the old life seemed to offer an easy way out, I called someone I knew who had also changed his life. I told him I was struggling. He helped me through that moment and told me to stay out of the streets and start praying. So I did. I began working. I started training again. I kept pushing forward. Little by little, my life began looking different. The same discipline, determination, toughness, and ability to influence others that I had once used in destructive ways began to have a different purpose.
26
Aspire BHDD Services Annual Report 2026
My journey also brought me back to something that had been inside me since childhood: performing. My mother first introduced me to acting when I was young. Years later, after injuries changed the direction of my fighting career, I asked myself what I really missed about fighting. I realized it wasn’t hurting people.
It was performing. So I began acting. I landed the lead in my first feature film, and when that project appeared on billboards in Times Square, my mother was still alive to see it.
Her response was simple: “I told you. I knew it all along.” But the words from my mother that mean the most came a few months before she passed away. She told me, “I stopped worrying about you about three years ago.” My mother had worried about me most of my life. Hearing that she no longer had to worry about her son told me more about how much my life had changed than any accomplishment ever could.
powerful it can be when somebody interrupts those thoughts before they become an identity.
Hope is knowing your worst choices do not have to become your final identity. Hope is realizing you can When I hear one of the young people face yourself instead of constantly running from yourself. And for me, I work with say, “I can’t,” they are hope is knowing God never stopped likely to hear me say: loving me, even during the years “Don’t ever say you can’t.” when I wasn’t listening. Sometimes my past allows me to I used to think being strong recognize what a young person may meant being feared. Today, I be walking toward before they can see it themselves. I can share enough understand strength differently. Sometimes strength is staying. of my own experience to help them understand where certain choices can Sometimes strength is asking for lead, then watch them begin making help. Sometimes strength is facing yourself. And... different decisions.
That means something to me. I cannot change my past. I don’t need to. I can use it.
Today, I act, create, teach, mentor, and continue discovering new things I am capable of doing. But when I think about what brings me the most joy at Aspire, my answer is easy.
Today, when someone asks me what hope looks like, I don’t need a complicated answer.
It’s the kids. I understand how quickly a young person can begin believing the wrong things about themselves. I also understand how
I know what it feels like to be hopeless, so I understand the difference.
Hope is every day. Hope is waking up in the morning.
And sometimes strength is looking at a young person who doesn’t believe in himself yet and saying:
“You can.”
Hope is waking up in the morning.
Aspire BHDD Services Annual Report 2026
27
Honoring Excellence in Peer Leadership Aspire BHDD Services received two significant statewide recognitions at the 2025 DBHDD All Certified Peer Specialist (CPS) Institute for Learning & Innovation Conference, held November 5 to 7, 2025, at the Atlanta Evergreen Lakeside Resort in Stone Mountain. The 2025 DBHDD All CPS Institute for Learning & Innovation Conference brought together more than 300 Certified Peer Specialists from across Georgia for shared learning, professional development, and skill-building focused on supporting youth, adults, and families living with mental health, substance use, and co-occurring challenges. Aspire BHDD Services received the 2025 VANGUARD AWARD, recognizing the organization’s commitment to community service and advancing the peer movement across Georgia. MARLISA BAILEY, Director of Employee Experience & Change Management, received the 2025 INFLUENTIAL AWARD. The award recognizes a peer or ally whose leadership has shaped policy and programs that move the peer movement forward. Together, these honors reflect Aspire’s broader investment in peer leadership, recovery-oriented services, lived experience, and the role peers play in strengthening systems of care across Georgia.
2026 demonstrated to me that we have so lots of individuals in this community that we really help. At the same time there are so many more that people could benefit from behavioral health and intellectual and developmental disability support. In short, I am happy we are doing the work we do, but there is just so much more work that needs to be done. Malcolm Bynum LPC, CCO-BH
Honoring Excellence in Accountability Court Service STATEWIDE RECOGNITION
Aspire celebrated Dee Plummer, Case Manager with Pataula Drug Court, who was named the Council of Accountability Court Judges’ 2025 Case Manager of the Year. The statewide recognition honors Dee’s dedication to supporting individuals in recovery and her outstanding work within Georgia’s accountability court system.
28
Dee’s work reflects the heart of accountability court services: combining structure, support, encouragement, and connection to help individuals rebuild their lives. Her recognition highlights both her personal commitment and the quality of Aspire’s partnership within the accountability court system. Aspire BHDD Services Annual Report 2026
A Community Celebration of Children’s Mental Health On June 27, 2026, nearly 600 children, families, community partners, and supporters gathered at Albany State University West Campus for Aspire Palooza, Aspire’s annual free community celebration of Children’s Mental Health Awareness. Presented each year by Aspire Clubhouse, Aspire Palooza brings mental health awareness into a setting designed for connection, joy, and family engagement. The event combines food, games, bounce houses, music, performances, vendors, giveaways, and community resources with opportunities for families to learn more about Aspire services and other supports available throughout the community. Youth voices are an important part of the celebration. This year’s program included featured speakers from Early County, including youth author and songwriter Bri’Yonna “Yonna” Sealy and Miss
Early County Caitlyn Lovering. Their participation helped reinforce the event’s message that children and young people deserve to be heard, encouraged, supported, and given opportunities to recognize their own potential. Aspire Palooza is more than a day of fun. It creates an approachable way to talk about children’s mental health, promote early support and intervention, reduce stigma, connect families with resources, and remind young people that strong minds and bright futures are worth investing in. Year after year, the event reflects Aspire’s commitment to prevention, community connection, and creating spaces where children and families can feel supported.
Special ShoutOut! Aspire extends special appreciation to Marlon Jones and the Aspire Clubhouse team for the planning, coordination, creativity, and commitment they bring to Aspire Palooza each year. Their work, along with the support of Aspire employees, community partners, vendors, sponsors, and volunteers, continues to make this annual possible. 29 Aspire BHDDcelebration Services Annual Report 2026
C E L E B R AT I N G
Night Shine to
NIGHT TO SHINE 2026
Individuals served through Aspire’s Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities programs joined hundreds of guests at Albany’s 2026 Night to Shine, a worldwide prom celebration sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation and hosted locally by Byne Church and Byne Christian School. Night to Shine is centered on God’s love and created to honor and celebrate people with special needs. From red-carpet arrivals and photos to music, dancing, dinner, activities, and special experiences throughout the evening, guests are treated like VIPs and reminded that they are loved, valued, and created with purpose. One of the signature moments of Night to Shine is the crowning ceremony, where every guest is honored as a king or queen. The celebration creates an unforgettable evening focused entirely on recognizing each guest and making sure they have the opportunity to shine.
A NIGHT TO SHINE
Aspire employee Angie Williams, affectionately known by colleagues as “The Angie Williams,” attended alongside her
30
Aspire BHDD Services Annual Report 2026
daughter, Alasia Williams. Their redcarpet moment captured the joy that filled the evening and reflected what Night to Shine is all about: celebrating individuals, families, relationships, and moments that deserve to be remembered. For the individuals Aspire serves in the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Programs, the evening offered more than a traditional prom experience. It was an opportunity to dress up, dance, celebrate with friends and family, make memories, and be part of a worldwide event created specifically to honor them. For Aspire, being present alongside the individuals and families we serve was an opportunity to celebrate with them and share in a night designed entirely around making each guest feel honored and special.
A CELEBRATION WITH PURPOSE Loved. Valued. Celebrated.
Night to Shine is a worldwide prom celebration created to honor people with special needs and remind every guest that they are loved, valued, and created with purpose. Aspire was honored to celebrate alongside the individuals and families we serve during a night designed especially for them to shine.
Aspire BHDD Services Annual Report 2026
31
Walk-in Crisis Navigation Unit 601 West 11th Avenue Albany, Georgia 31701
Aspire BHDD Services 1120 W. Broad Ave | P.O. Box 1988 Albany, Georgia 31702
229.430.4005
229.430.1842
Georgia Crisis & Access Line 1.800.715.4225 or dial 988
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Call or text 988