Cypress Edition | January 2026

Health & wellness

BY SARAH BRAGER

Mental health resources in Cy-Fair tied to economic prosperity

The big picture

UH researchers Damien Kelly and Chakema Carmack coined the term “mental health deserts” after using the concept of food deserts to compare mental health resources in Greater Houston. Their study found communities in zip codes with higher incomes and more development had greater mental health care options. “Prosperity should not be the deciding factor on whether a population, a community, is mentally healthy and has access to mental health [care], because they want it,” Carmack said. Kelly and Carmack said they mapped resources using data from Psychology Today’s registry of licensed mental health professionals and the U.S. Census Bureau’s Distressed Communities Index, which rates zip codes based on poverty, job growth, education level and other factors. Greater Houston zip codes ranked on the Distressed Communities Index The DCI rates zip codes based on economic factors including poverty level, educational attainment and housing vacancy rates, among others, with “distressed” being the most severe rating.

mental health professionals. To address the gap, psychologists and policymakers in the northwest Houston region are ghting for more options and against barriers like cost and stigma. “[Mental health] impacts school, work, relationships and just day-to-day functioning,” Jennifer Boswell, director of adult mental health services at the Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD, said.

Residents in areas with fewer economic opportunities struggle to nd mental health care in their communities, according to a University of Houston study that mapped mental health deserts across Greater Houston. The study, published Oct. 15, found that even neighboring zip codes see sharp dierences in accessibility to mental health resources. Areas with lower education levels and higher poverty rates had fewer, sometimes zero, licensed

Distressed Communities Index, Cy-Fair and Cypress The Distressed Communities Index (DCI) uses Census data including housing vacancy, poverty rate, median income ratio, among others to explore disparities in economic well being.

Economic prosperity by ZIP code:

Mid-tier

At-risk

Prosperous

99 TOLL

290

77070

77429

1960

Breakdown of 96 analyzed zip codes Distressed: 42 At risk: 19 Mid tier: 18 Comfortable: 10 Prosperous: 7

19.79%

77433

77095

77064

43.75%

18.75%

249

77040

529

77065

10.41%

7.29%

SOURCE: UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTONCOMMUNITY IMPACT

The local impact

added Spanish-speaking sta to mitigate language barriers. Kelly and Carmack said they’re partnering with Harris County Precinct 4 to explore potential policy solutions, and they expect to release a follow-up report in spring 2026. To nd free mental health resources in the meantime, visit Pct. 4’s website at www.cp4.harriscountytx.gov.

mental health center Cy-Hope Counseling, said cost, time and transportation create challenges for consistent treatment. To promote accessibility, she said the center uses a sliding-scale method to oer free and reduced-cost therapy. Henshaw said Cy-Hope opened a second counseling center in 2024 in Waller, an area with a large transportation disparity. Additionally, Henshaw said the center recently

Several zip codes in the Cy-Fair and Cypress areas are ranked “prosperous” on the DCI, which was last updated with 2023 Census data, per the map. However, some zip codes—particularly near Hwy. 249 and Jersey Village—came up as “mid-tier” and “at risk,” with fewer mental health professionals than their “prosperous” counterparts. Kristin Henshaw, clinical director of local

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