Into The Fold: Issues In Mental Health

Just last month, for Episode 146, we took a look at some recent successes in public policy by one of our grantee partners, Texas Harm Reduction Alliance. In that episode and in many others we’ve tried to get across that not only is the policy arena a crucial venue for transforming mental health for Texans, but we’ll only truly succeed if we can help build the policy capacity of others. A good recent example is one we’re going to be discussing today. Family Service Center of Galveston is a Hogg Foundation Communities of Care grantee partner. They are part of the The Future is Us collaborative, which works across sectors to address community conditions, practices, and policies that perpetuate racial inequities in the education system in the Galveston area. Their CEO, Dr. Jared Williams, and their public policy director, Keith Henry, join us to talk about their recent achievements in public policy. Related links: Mental Health Awareness Month 2023 https://hogg.utexas.edu/mental-health-awareness-month Into the

On April 6, 2023 Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced a $10 million fentanyl awareness campaign. This will include the Texas Division of Emergency Management delivering a total of 20,000 doses of the overdose-reversing medication, naloxone, more commonly known as Narcan, to all 254 counties in Texas. The distribution of nalaxone is a key plank of the “harm reduction” movement, which advocates for less punitive, more treatment-centered approaches to substance use conditions. Harm reduction has been making a slow and steady climb toward mainstream acceptance, and there are signs here in Texas that it may have finally broken through. Our guest for today, J.J. Ramirez, is an organizer with Texas Harm Reduction Alliance, a statewide organization that aims to end the drug war and its harms through harm reduction outreach, training, advocacy, and organizing. Texas Harm Reduction Alliance is also a grantee of the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health, receiving a Policy Fellows grant in 2022. Related links: Episode #145:

With March being Social Work Month, we thought it worth exploring an increasingly urgent issue within social work: the challenges of doing ethical social work practice in a politically divided time like ours. In Texas, this is especially true for social workers who serve LGBTQ+ clients. How do practicing social workers navigate this difficult terrain? Social workers Kurt Olster and Kimberly Goodwin join us to discuss. Episode 133: Gender-Affirming Care is Trauma-Informed Care https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-gender-affirming-care-trauma-informed-care Hogg History: The Ima Hogg Scholarships https://hogg.utexas.edu/history-of-the-ima-hogg-scholarships Don't Mess with Texas Social Workers https://hogg.utexas.edu/dont-mess-with-texas-social-workers Announcing 2022 Ima Hogg Scholarship Recipients https://hogg.utexas.edu/hogg-scholarship-recipients-2022 Mental Health and Social Policy: A Q&A with Benita Bamgbade https://hogg.utexas.edu/mental-health-and-social-policy-a-qa-with-benita-bamgbade

Public school teaching has never been easy, but the willingness of some lawmakers to crack down on what is taught is unprecedented in recent memory. In Texas, there are signs that lawmakers are ready to follow in the footsteps of Florida, where public school teachers and librarians are now subject to restrictions on books that teach about race, sexual orientation and gender identity. To help us understand what teachers are going through, we talk to Nelva Williamson, an AP African American Studies teacher for Houston Independent School District; and Jesus Sosa, who teaches social studies for Richardson Independent School District. Public school teaching has never been easy, but the willingness of some lawmakers to crack down on what is taught is unprecedented in recent memory. In Texas, there are signs that lawmakers are ready to follow in the footsteps of Florida, where public school teachers and librarians are now subject to restrictions on books that teach about race, sexual orientation and gender identi

The Hogg Foundation, past and present, wants to know more about the people and communities it aims to impact through its work. But during the 1950's this desire for greater knowledge ran headlong into the social and political climate of the time. \ ]'? Beginning in 1954, the Hogg Foundation conducted the Texas Cooperative Youth Study, a large-scale survey of nearly 13,000 high schoolers. It surveyed their attitudes on a range of issues, including segregation and other hot-button social issues of the time. The study took place the same year as the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case that mandated the desegregation of public schools. Unexpectedly, the study met with a cold reception. White parents were alarmed by the study’s questions, and this response triggered a backlash that even drew in elements of the anti-communist panic emblematic of the time. To help us make sense of this moment in Hogg Foundation history, Aviv Rau is a graduate research assistant for the Hogg Foundation and a g

Girls Empowerment Network seeks to “ignite the power in girls by teaching them the skills to thrive and believe in their ability to be unstoppable.” Ana O’Quin is a newly hired policy fellow for Girls Empowerment Network. On this episode she is joined by her policy mentor, Sarah Miller-Fellows, to shed some light on what “unstoppability” for girls looks like in the year 2023, and how the cultivation of girls' confidence in their leadership skills is essential to mental health. Related links: Empowering Girls Through Policy https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-empowering-girls-through-policy A Vision for the Future: Policy Priorities, 2023-2024 https://hogg.utexas.edu/policy-priorities-2023-24 Building Capacity to Advocate for Mental Health Policy https://hogg.utexas.edu/blog-advocate-mental-health-policy Policy Fellows Retrospective https://hogg.utexas.edu/policy-fellows-retrospective

The 88th session of the Texas Legislature kicks off in January. In a time of increasing polarization, mental health stands apart as an issue that lends itself to bipartisan cooperation. But will that be as true in 2023? What can we expect from the Legislature, and what does it mean to do mental health policy in 2023? Joining us to offer some potential answers to these questions is the Hogg Foundation Policy Team: Alison Mohr Boleware, director of policy; Shannon Hoffman, policy program officer; and Angela Ott, policy fellow. Related links: Protecting Kids’ Mental Health in a Time of Polarization https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-social-emotional-learning Lessons Learned on Public Policy https://hogg.utexas.edu/lessons-learned-on-public-policy Young and Invincible https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-young-and-invincible Empowering Girls through Policy https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-empowering-girls-through-policy

In our What Happened to You? series, we are looking at trauma, at both the individual and community level. COVID-19 has been a generational trauma, affecting children, families, communities, and whole societies. Health care workers have been among the most deeply impacted. For this episode we’re looking at the traumatic impact of COVID on health care workers, through the lens of a concept known as "moral injury." Our two guests are University of Texas at Austin professors Dr. Robert Prentice, professor of business ethics at the McCombs School of Business; and Dr. Read Pierce, professor of internal medicine at Dell Medical School. Episode 139: What Happened to You? Part II: Why We Talk About it https://hogg.utexas.edu/what-happened-to-you-part-ii-why-we-talk-about-it Episode 138: What Happened to You, Part I: Back to School (with Trauma) https://hogg.utexas.edu/what-happened-to-you-part-1 Episode 118: Children in 2021: Grief and Loss https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-children-in-2021

It’s hard to miss the multitude of public conversations about personal trauma taking place these days. Once a very privately held concern, discussing Discussing personal trauma and its long-term impact has become markedly less stigmatized. Increasingly, public discussion is considered empowering, humanizing, and helpful to others with similar experiences. In the second of our series of podcasts addressing the relationship between trauma and well-being, we Into the Fold host Ike Evans speaks with Dr. Bruce Perry, co-author with Oprah Winfrey of the recent best-selling book, What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing, about the increased openness and evolving approach to understanding trauma. Episode 138: What Happened to You, Part I: Back to School (with Trauma) https://hogg.utexas.edu/what-happened-to-you-part-1 Episode 133: Gender-Affirming Care is Trauma-Informed Care https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-gender-affirming-care-trauma-informed-care Episode 118: Children in 2021 htt

it has been two months since the horrific mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Tragedies like Uvalde are always a chance to revisit what we mean by “safety,” and where mental health fits in to that. And lest we forget, the worst of the COVID pandemic may be over for most kids, but that can't erase the more than 10.5 million children worldwide who have lost one or both parents during the coronavirus pandemic. In this episode we explore the persisting effects on Texas kids of these two recent disasters. The first segment is an interview with Texas Tribune's Brian Lopez about the aftemath of the UValde shooting. In the second segment we hear from Rosie Guzman and Sandy Salinas, both with Communities in Schools of Laredo, a Hogg Foundation grant partner. Related links: For Uvalde, Sympathy is Not Enough https://hogg.utexas.edu/for-uvalde-sympathy-is-not-enough COVID-19 and Our Schools https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-covid-19-and-our-schools Children in 2021 https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast

In the summer of 2022 the Hogg Foundation teamed up with the Bullock Museum of Texas to contribute to their summer of programming on mental health. In June of 2022, Hogg Foundation executive director Dr. Octavio N. Martinez, Jr., and Dr. Bill Bush, Texas A&M professor of history and author of Circuit Riders for Mental Health: The Hogg Foundation and Twentieth Century Texas, were the featured guests in a webinar presented by the Bullock Museum. Their conversation connects the past and present of mental health, and shows how building an effective, person-centered mental health system in Texas is a project that spans generations. Related links: Hogg State Hospital Archives Project https://hogg.utexas.edu/hogg-foundation-awards-260000-for-austin-state-hospital-archives Bullock Museum Webinar: Dr. Octavio N. Martinez, Jr. and Dr. William Bush https://utexas.box.com/s/9jpu7bkky2t4tz6uzw30xszarnh18rkj Episode 25: Circuit Riders for Mental Health Into the Fold, Episode 25: Circuit Riders for Mental Health Th

As we close Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, we take a look at one of the most vital domains for the exploration of lived mental health experience: art. Our guest is Velta Brenya, a recent graduate from The University of Texas at Austin, and her unique project: The Double Diversity Digital Art Gallery. Velta created the Double Diversity Digital Art Gallery to highlight the experiences of Black, neurodiverse college students. In a bonus segment, we preview next month's podcast interview with Adrian Fowler, the first Black program officer to work for the Hogg Foundation. Related links: Episode 69: Mental Health and the Musician's Life https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-musician-mental-health Double Diversity Digital Art Gallery https://doublediversityart.wixsite.com/dddag/about "The Flower that Grew from Concrete" (first art piece discussed in the episode) https://doublediversityart.wixsite.com/dddag/see-the-art?pgid=l43conqk-20a2a177-9b36-4314-8019-7dd1ff2a0bb8 "Veiled Woman in Fron of State Capitol

One of the biggest disparities affecting people of color in the United States concerns maternal mental health. In 2022, WorkingGroup512, based in East Austin, received a $5,000 grant from the Hogg Foundation for its maternal mental health project. The project provides holistic support and healing to a focus cohort of Black mothers and primary caregivers, ages 16 to 65, caring for at least one child between birth to two years old. In this episode of the podcast, we speak with Neishai Gregory, a doula who works with Working Group 512, and Virginia Baldwin, a mother and client, to learn more about the organization’s work building a community of care for Black women as they experience the mental health challenges of pregnancy and parenting. Related links Healthy Minds Grants 2022 https://hogg.utexas.edu/2021-healthy-minds-grants Maternal Mental Health: Where Family Well-being Begins https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-maternal-mental-health

This is Part 2 of our month-long conversation on the attack on LGBTQ+ rights and its impact on mental health in Texas. The LGBTQ+ community in Texas is getting it from all sides; not just efforts to ban or sharply curtail gender affirming care, but bans on trans youth participation in sports, book bans, and just the general climate of fear-mongering that cast a shadow over Pride Month this year. Joining us to help connect the dots between the issues, the rhetoric, and people’s mental health are state Rep. Celia Israel of Austin, and Brad Pritchett of Equality Texas. Related links: Hogg Foundation Statement on Pride Month https://hogg.utexas.edu/statement-on-lgbtq-pride-month Episode 133: Gender Affirming Care is Trauma-Informed Care https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-gender-affirming-care-trauma-informed-care Episode 122: Gender Affirmation Can be Life and Death https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-gender-affirmation Episode 82: Gender Identity and Well-being: Toss the Rulebook https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-ge

June is Pride Month. We recognize the contributions lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/queer plus individuals have made to society--and the continued urgency of their struggle. The LGBTQ+ community has had to fight for acceptance, inclusion, and civil rights in a society that has historically shunned their very existence. The LGBTQ+ community continues to face many obstacles to their individual mental health and well-being, and this has never been more true than in the summer of 2022. In this episode we explore gender affirming care as a form of trauma-informed care, and what it means to try to be trauma-informed for a community in peril. Our guests are Eli Lawrence, Clinical Supervisor of Behavioral Health for Waterloo Counseling Center; and Andrea Segovia, Senior Policy and Field Advisor for Trans Education Network of Texas. Related links: Episode 122: Gender Affirmation Can be Life and Death https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-gender-affirmation Episode 82: Gender Identity and Well-being: Tos

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. We’re taking this time of cultural recognition to look at connections between this community and the Hogg Foundation’s core concerns for mental health and health equity. In Episode 132 of Into the Fold, we speak with three representatives from the Asian Americans Attaining Awareness (AAAA) initiative to explore Asian American mental health in the context of shared collaborative effort: Dr. Aneela Khan, Community Behavioral Health Program Manager at the Asian American Health Coalition of Greater Houston HOPE Clinic; retired Colonel Vipin Kumar, Executive Director of the India House, a nonprofit community resource center in Houston; and Jason Lau, MPH, a project manager for DePelchin Children’s Center in Houston. Related links: Episode 115: Fear of Going Outside: A Podcaster on Asian Identity, Mental Health and Belonging https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-fear-of-going-outside Episode 101: Asian American Identity in the Time of COVID-19 https://hogg.u

April 22 is Earth Day. It is an opportunity to assess the current health of our physical environment and explore ways to protect and improve it. As young people increasingly express concern about the impacts of climate change, Earth Day is also a natural opportunity to explore the connection between climate anxiety and mental health. In this episode of Into the Fold, we speak with two passionate community activists from Mi Familia Vota, a grassroots organization working to build Latino political engagement on a variety of civic issues, including environmental justice. Texas Director Angelica Razo, along with Environmental Justice Organizer Esmeralda Gonzalez, discuss their work mobilizing young people to address environmental challenges and advocate for systemic change. Related links: Episode 124: Changing the Landscape: People, Parks and Power https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-green-space

The month of March is Women’s History Month. For this milestone 130th episode of our podcast, we put the spotlight on a remarkable woman who we recently lost: Sarah Weddington, who made an enormous contribution to history as a successful litigator in the landmark Roe V. Wade case, and who passed away last December. She appeared in a 1970's episode of The Human Condition, the radio series produced by the Hogg Foundation from 1971 to 1983. We have reproduced this episode for a wide-ranging discussion of Weddington's life and legacy. We are joined by Dr. Laurie Green, professor of history at The University of Texas at Austin. Consumer Voice: Its Role in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-consumer-voice Women Make History: Maggie Kuhn and the Gray Panthers https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-women-make-history-maggie-kuhn-and-the-gray-panthers From the Archive: Efua Sutherland on Theatre, Literature and Self-rediscovery https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-from-the-archive-efua-sutherland

In this episode of Into the Fold, we explore how today’s toxic political climate may be impacting mental health programs in schools, as described in a recent NBC news article entitled, “Parents protesting ‘critical race theory’ identify a new target: Mental health programs”. We are joined by Donna Black, president of the Social Emotional Learning Alliance for Texas (SEL4TX) to discuss an educational process known as social-emotional learning, its application in schools, its positive impact on kids’ mental health, and its current mischaracterization in this time of political polarization. Related links Healthy Educators for Healthy Kids http://hogg.utexas.edu/what-we-do/success-stories/student-mental-health Mental Health in Schools https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-mental-health-schools Uproar over critical race theory should not threaten mental health in schools https://hogg.utexas.edu/critical-race-theory-mental-health-in-schools Mental health in schools is at a tipping point. Here is what needs to happe

In observance of Black History Month 2022, we once again reach back into the Hogg Foundation's archive of episodes of the Human Condition, the radio program that the foundation produced from 1971 to 1983. These rare conversations cover a multitude of subjects against a backdrop of rapid social change--and new developments in mental health. This episode features a revealing conversation with Roy Wilkins (1901-1981), civil rights icon and longtime leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Related links: Episode 76: From the Archives: Dr. Kenneth Clark on Racism and Child Well-Being https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-dr-kenneth-clark-on-racism-and-child-well-being Episode 120: Why History? https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-why-history Episode 65:The Past Does Matter: Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-the-past-does-matter