Home
> About
Us
> Press Release
March 31, 2010
Hill Country
Community MHMR Center Awarded $175,000 for Veteran’s Services
Hill Country Community MHMR Center,
headquartered in Kerrville and serving 19 counties (including Bandera,
Blanco, Comal, Edwards, Gillespie, Hays, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Kinney,
Llano, Mason, Medina, Menard, Real, Schleicher, Sutton, Uvalde and Val
Verde counties), has been awarded a $175,000 competitive grant for the
provision of Veteran’s Services. Gov. Rick Perry, at the
start of the Wounded Warrior Project’s Soldier Ride Texas,
announced the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) is
awarding $1.75 million in competitive grants for communities to help
veterans find access to treatment, expand trauma therapy services and
promote peer support for veterans and their families. This round of
grants is the next phase of an initiative announced in November to
expand and improve mental health support programs for veterans and
their families around the state.
“Our veterans and their families make sacrifices every day to
protect freedom around the world, and Texas has a deep appreciation for
their selfless service,” Gov. Perry said. “That is why I
worked with the Health and Human Services Commission, Department of
State Health Services and the Legislature to secure $5 million to
supplement the $1.2 million from the state budget to expand mental
health treatment and support programs for veterans and their families.
These grants will help ensure that the men and women returning from
combat and their families get the help they need to transition back
into civilian life.”
“Our warriors are under tremendous strain as they fight two
foreign wars and the global war on terrorism,” Sen. Leticia Van
de Putte said. “The physical scars are the easiest to see, but it
is often the invisible scars that are the hardest to heal. These grants
will show our men and women in uniform that in Texas no one stands
alone and no scar goes untreated.”
These grants follow the January release of $2.66 million in
non-competitive grants provided by DSHS to the state’s 38 local
mental health authorities to initiate or expand community-based peer
support groups and coordinate community resources, such as housing and
employment, for veterans. The total amount of grants provided to date
is $4.4 million. Between the initial funding and the competitive
award, Hill Country has been awarded $245,000 for the provision of
Veteran’s Services.
“We want to help address the mental health issues that can affect
our combat veterans and their families,” DSHS Commissioner Dr.
David Lakey said. “One way to do that is to bring veterans
together to establish ongoing peer relationships.”
Recipients of the $1.75 million in competitive grants represent areas
of the state with high concentrations of military families, and will
each receive $175,000 for projects that help veterans and their
families find access to treatment. Grants will also be used to expand
trauma therapy for veterans, initiate or enhance family-to-family peer
services and train veterans to provide peer support. The competitive
grant recipients are:
•
Center for Health Care Services (serving Bexar County)
•
Central Texas Collaborative (20 counties in Central Texas; lead agency
is Austin Travis County Integral Care)
• East
Texas North Collaborative (41 counties in north East Texas; lead agency
is the Andrews Center)
• East
Texas South Collaborative (16 counties in south East Texas; lead agency
is the Gulf Coast MHMR Center)
• El
Paso MHMR Center
•
Harris County MHMR Authority
• Hill
Country MHMR Center (19 counties in Central Texas)
•
Lubbock Regional MHMR Center (five counties in the Lubbock area)
•
North Texas Behavioral Health Authority (seven counties in North Texas)
•
Tarrant County MHMR Services
Texas remains committed to ensuring that veterans have access to the
services and support they need. The state has allocated a total of $6.2
million for the expansion of mental health programs, services and
support for veterans. In addition to these grants, nearly $1.2 million
was appropriated by the Legislature last session for specialized trauma
training for therapists, an online system to help veterans find
services and to create a training program for peer-to-peer veteran and
family supports. The remaining funds are used for staff, training,
monitoring and technical assistance and other mental health projects
for veterans in collaboration with Texas Military Forces.
“Hill Country is thrilled about the opportunity to serve our area
Veteran’s and their families,” said Linda Werlein, CEO of
Hill Country, “It is important that our service men and women
know they are not alone as they deal with the emotional trauma and
scars they encounter while serving our nation and state. It is an
honor and a privilege for Hill Country to have the opportunity to serve
them.”
Hill Country Community MHMR Center provides mental health, mental
retardation, substance abuse, and early childhood intervention services
throughout a nineteen county area of the greater Texas Hill
Country. For more information on Hill Country and their services,
visit www.hillcountry.org.
|
|
|
