Grieving family of Georgia police officer starts nonprofit Gotcha Covered Blankets
This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
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Nonprofit donates blankets to police to honor fallen officer
In one of Officer Mitchell Georgiana's last text messages he ever sent to his mother, he asked if she had any blankets to spare that he could hand out to people who are homeless or going through a traumatic event and could use the extra comfort. Two days later, Donna Mitchell said her son took his own life.
SMYRNA, Ga – A family, mourning the sudden loss of their son, started a nonprofit to help others. Mitchell Georgiana was a Smyrna Police officer who took his own life.
Mitchell Georgiana wanted to be a police officer since he was in high school. He joined the Smyrna Police force in 2020 and was on the SWAT team.
"He was on top of the world," said Donna Georgiana, his mom.
On November 16, 2021, Mitchell took his own life.
"We walked around in total shock. To this day we can't understand it," said Donna.
Donna and her husband, Paul, felt they had to do something to keep their son's memory alive. Donna remembered a text he had sent her two days before he died.
"The text was simply, 'Do you have any old blankets you want to get rid of?'" said Donna.
Donna said he told her he wanted to keep blankets in his car to hand out to homeless people or anyone going through a traumatic event who needed comfort.
The Georgianas started a nonprofit called Gotcha Covered Blankets, and give blankets to police to keep in their cars.
Through fundraisers, like the one held Tuesday night on what would have been Mitchell's 25th birthday, they've raised enough money to hand out 800 blankets to police across Cobb County.
They know their son would have loved what they're doing.
"He would have been all in. He would have been doing everything he could do to help with what we're doing. No doubt about it. He had that kind of heart," said Paul.
The nonprofit also sheds light on the suicide rate among officers.
"Officers are killing themselves at a higher rate than bad guys are killing them," said Chris Michael who recently retired from the Cobb County Police Department.
Michael was a peer support commander for the police department. He helped officers who were struggling and is grateful the Georgianas are bringing attention to the problem.
"If he thought he had made a difference in other officers' lives that would mean a lot to him," said the Georgianas.
This isn't a one-time thing, when officers hand out their blankets, they get another one, so they'll always have a blanket in their cars.