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BUDGETED EXPENSES FROM FEDERAL RELIEF
STATE STATS
Montgomery County budgeted $8.16M in expenses from American Rescue Plan Act funds for mental health services.
A 2022 report from Mental Health America breaks down where Texas ranks in mental health care in the U.S. out of 50 states and Washington, D.C.
24% of Texans reported they were not able to receive the mental health treatment they needed.
51 OUT OF 51
Medical supplies & nursing sta : $13.64M
50 OUT OF 51 Texas ranked last in the U.S. for access to mental health care. Texas ranked second lowest for the availability of its mental health sta .
Mental health services: $8.16M
Total ARPA budgeted projects*:
Other: $1.38M
$22.9M
*AS OF MARCH 31
LOCAL RESOURCES MOSAICS OF MERCY 33114 Forest W. St., Magnolia 346-703-0051 www.mosaicsofmercy.com NAMI GREATER HOUSTON 713-970-4483 www.namigreaterhouston.org WATERSHED COUNSELING CENTER 14855 Liberty St., Montgomery 936-297-5252 www.watershedcounselingcenter.com TRI COUNTY BEHAVIORAL HEALTHCARE 800-659-6994 (crisis hotline)
SOURCES: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY, MENTAL HEALTH AMERICA COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
“[Having those beds] is one of the biggest needs for this county, for law enforcement,” Precinct 3 Commis- sioner James Noack said Aug. 3. “Not having them is a disservice.” Barriers to access In addition to sta ng challenges, local organizations said lengthy wait- ing lists, a lack of providers and the cost of services are barriers to receiv- ing mental health services in Mont- gomery County. The area served by Tri-County in Montgomery, Walker and Liberty counties is designated as a high-needs health care professionals shortage area for mental health, according to the U.S. Health Resources and Service Administration. In addition, a 2022 report from Mental Health America shows there were 830 residents per mental health provider in the state, ranking Texas second lowest for provider availabil- ity in the U.S. Sherry Burkhard, director of educa- tion for Mosaics of Mercy—a nonpro t based in Montgomery County that helps residents nd mental health services—said providers often have a waiting list for new clients. “Since [the peak of the pandemic], our call volume has leveled out, … but what we have seen is an increase in the complexity in calls and the di culty in connecting to providers,” she said. According to the NAMI, 43.4% of adults in Texas reported symp- toms of anxiety or depression in February 2021, of which 26.4%—or 839,000 adults—were unable to get needed counseling or therapy with the cost cited as the barrier for 45.3% of those. However, in addition to the cost of receiving services, the lack of funding for providing mental health services is a challenge to addressing the need, said Steve Morris, lead pastor of Texas
Grand Chapel. The church is in the early stages of merging with Refuge Counseling Center in Conroe to pro- vide broader mental health services. “Funding needs to come from somewhere,” he said. “Local leg- islation likely will be able to help state-funded or government-funded organizations. We need the com- munity to stand in the gap and support nonpro t, faith-based organizations.” State Sen. Brandon Creighton, RConroe, said in an August email he expects the state to build upon its mental health funding in the upcom- ing legislative session, which will begin in January. He said the state invested $100 million in 2019 to cre- ate the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium and $745 million for constructing mental health facilities. “Year after year, the Texas Legis- lature has prioritized mental health funding, and the 2023 session will be no di erent,” he said in an email. “Lawmakers will work diligently to ensure communities large and small have the mental health resources they need.” Local response As the legislative session approaches, LaVar said the task force is working to complete its gap analysis in December with a rec- ommendation of priority initiatives and longer-term needs. The analysis kicks o Sept. 20 with a meeting of about 100 stakeholders, LaVar said, and will also include focus groups throughout the fall. “What’s going to make the greatest impact right now?” LaVar said. “We’re going to produce for this county what we need right now and what we need to look at in the future.” In addition, Burkhard said Mosa- ics of Mercy is working alongside Tri-County to assemble a public
800-550-8408 https://tcbhc.org TEXAS MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS LINE Call or text 988.
database of available mental health resources to help with the di culty of nding a provider. With needs increasing and access lacking, Shannon Brown, the clini- cal director and co-owner of Refuge Counseling Center, said the counsel- ing center and Texas Grand Chapel are working to create a campus in Conroe known as The Refuge with a co ee shop, a church and a counseling cen- ter to serve the spiritual, physical and social needs of the community. The two entities are looking for land and raising funds. “That’s kind of why this whole team is coming together to ensure that we are doing what we feel like is our responsibility but also is a need to the community that we are remov- ing as many barriers as we can,” Brown said. “There has been a trend of need way before COVID[-19] hit. I think people re-emerging into soci- ety is putting more of a crisis-level noti cation on it.”
Jerry Coker 713-224-3426 ¡Hablamos Español!
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Jerry Coker 713-224-3426 ¡Hablamos Españo
Jerry Coker 713-224-3426 ¡Hablamos Español! Limitations apply. See geico.com for more details. GEICO & affiliates. 20076. GEICO Gecko image © 1999-2022. © 2022 GEICO. 21_63331212 Limitations apply. See geico.com for more details. DC 20076. GEICO Gecko image © 1999-2022. Jerry Coker 713-224-3426 ¡Hablamos Español! apply. See geico.com for more details. GEICO & affiliates. Washington 20076. GEICO Gecko image © 1999-2022. © 2022 GEICO. 21_633312129 Jerry Coker 713-224-3426 ¡Hablamos Español! See geico.com for more details. GEICO & affiliates. GEICO Gecko image © 1999-2022. © 2022 GEICO. Jerry Coker 713-224-3426 ¡Hablamos Español! apply. See geico.com for more details. GEICO & GEICO Gecko image © 1999-2022. © 2022 GEICO. Limitations apply. See geico.com for more details. GEICO & affiliates. Washington, DC 20076. GEICO Gecko image 1999- 2022. 2022 GEICO. 21_633312129 more details. GEICO & affiliates. Washington, 1999-2022. © 2022 GEICO. 21_633312129 more details. GEICO & affiliates. Washington, 1999-2022. © 2022 GEICO. 21_633312129
Jerry Coker 713-224-3426 ¡Hablamos Español! Coker 713-224-3426 ¡Hablamos Español!
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CONROE MONTGOMERY EDITION • SEPTEMBER 2022
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