Tag: Uniting

Last December, 160 mental health professionals, pastors and law enforcement officials gathered in a conference room in Austin, Texas. State House Rep. Four Price, the Republican chairman of the House Select Committee on Mental Health, got up to speak. “Let’s see what we can do … at a legislative level,” he said in a noncommittal call to action that nonetheless earned applause. Price was followed by Kirk Watson, a Democrat who was not on the committee. Austin’s state senator spoke with passion and precision. “I want it to be said sometime in the near future, easily said, openly said, ‘I have a mental illness, and I’m receiving treatment in Austin, Texas.’” A few months later, Southern-accented politicians from both sides of the aisle look as though they’re going to back up their talk with legislative action.

That’s right, there’s a play for more mental health services in the Lone Star State. And for good reason: Texas ranked 48th nationally in per-capita state mental health agency spending in 2013, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Support for improving that poor showing is coming from the top. House Speaker Joe Straus has said mental health is a high priority in this round in the legislature, which meets for only 140 days every two years. The game plan: Flex legislative muscle on mental health care in schools and sprinkle in experimental funding for clinics that reach overlooked populations, like 18 to 25 year olds. “Texas is doing different things, innovative things,” says Sarah Narendorf, assistant professor at the Graduate College of Social Work at the University of Houston.

 

Because mental health affects so many segments of our daily lives … it is absolutely one of the most critical areas of concern facing Texas today.

 

Interim report to the 85th Texas Legislature, House Select Committee on Mental Health

Here’s a useful guide explaining the link between addiction and anxiety

Read more about The Surprising Issue Uniting Left and Right in Texas …