Community Service Board of Middle Georgia Selected toJoin National Reaching Rural Fellowship

Community Service Board of Middle Georgia Selected to
Join National Reaching Rural Fellowship
Dublin, GA — The Community Service Board of Middle Georgia (CSBMG) is proud to announce its selection to participate in the 2025–2026 Reaching Rural: Advancing Collaborative Solutions fellowship initiative. Co-sponsored by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice, and the State Justice Institute, this initiative supports community-led efforts to address the overdose crisis and other behavioral health challenges disproportionately impacting rural America.
CSBMG joins a collaborative team of local and academic partners in this effort, including the City of Dublin Police Department (lead applicant), Laurens County Emergency Management Agency (EMA), the Superior Court of Laurens County -Eighth Circuit Accountability Court, and faculty affiliates of Georgia Southern University, Dr. J. Mitchell Miller and Dr. Brenda Vose.
“This initiative couldn’t come at a more critical time for rural Georgia,” said Denise Forbes, CEO of CSBMG. “With the combined strength of our community’s leadership—from Chief Keith Moon of the Dublin Police Department, Mr. Bill Laird of Laurens EMA, Judge Trey Taylor of the Superior Court, and our academic partners Drs. Miller and Vose—we’re building a comprehensive approach to prevention, treatment access, and recovery support. Together, we are investing in solutions that meet our rural communities where they are.”
The team was selected through a competitive national application process and represents one of only 60 rural communities chosen from 14 states. The year-long Reaching Rural fellowship includes monthly virtual and in-person sessions with national experts and peer communities. It focuses on identifying innovative strategies to serve justice-involved individuals with substance use or co-occurring mental health disorders more effectively.
Through this initiative, CSBMG and its partners will explore opportunities to strengthen emergency response, expand behavioral health services, and implement community-wide solutions across Dublin/Laurens County and surrounding areas.
For more information about the Reaching Rural initiative, visit: https://reachingrural.cossup.org.