Into The Fold: Issues In Mental Health

The Hogg Foundation recently celebrated the 10th year of the Policy Academy and Policy Fellows initiative, a cornerstone initiative, which is still going strong. Hogg Policy Fellows have gone on to positions of leadership at all levels, and their collective expertise has changed mental health policy in Texas for the better. Later this month the Hogg Foundation will be releasing a report titled, "Hogg Foundation for Mental Health Policy Academy & Policy Fellow Initiative, A Retrospective on a Decade of Investment." To mark the occasion, we brought on David Johnson, criminal justice organizer for Grassroots Leadership of Texas, and an alum of the Policy Fellows program, and Colleen Horton, director of policy for the Hogg Foundation. Related links: Episode 75: Substance Use: A Public Health Approach https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-substance-use-policy Episode 79: Maternal Mental Health: Where Family Well-being Begins https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-maternal-mental-health Episode 108: Empowering Girls Th

As we have explored in numerous episodes, COVID-19 has been a pandemic of inequality. For as long as the pandemic has been a mainstay in our lives, the podcast has tried to bring the Hogg Foundation’s equity lens to bear on our discussions of the pandemic’s blighting effects on mental health and well-being. We continue this equity focus with Episode 126, which looks at vaccine access for the current and formerly incarcerated. Our guest is Carl Hunter, a former Hogg Policy Fellow and current executive director of Building Promise USA, an organization dedicated to empowering the formerly incarcerated. Related links: Episode 97: The Inequality of COVID-19 https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-the-inequality-of-covid-19 Episode 113: Vaccine Equity and Trust https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-vaccine-equity-and-trust Episode 117: Vaccine Equity and Disability Rights https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-vaccine-equity-and-disability-rights

Drawing from insights shared at this year’s Young Minds Matter conference, this episode of Into the Fold calls attention to the connection between healing and justice as it relates to youth mental health and well-being. Focusing on the power and agency of young people, as opposed to their vulnerability, our guest Dr. Nia West-Bey, Senior Policy Analyst at The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)’s Youth Team moderates a conversation with Marissa Howdershelt, Whitney Lee and Darlicia Dublin, three representatives of the Washington D.C. based youth advocacy group, the New Deal for Youth Changemakers. Related links: Into the Fold, Episode 88: Young Minds Matter https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-young-minds-matter Young Minds Matter 2021: Conference Videos https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-twp1sk908uubAy0Xra9OTSN1Y-3L4tr Into the Fold, Episode 116: Young and Invincible https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-young-and-invincible

In some ways, “social determinants” is just another way of saying something that should be obvious: that mental health and well-being is radically tied to place. The histories of places, and how physical space is configured, by whom and for whom, is something that has profound ramifications for mental health and well-being. In particular, access to the outdoors is a key social determinant of mental health. It is something that some must struggle to obtain while a fortunate few take it for granted. When the Hogg Foundation launched the Communities of Care initiative in 2018, the opportunity was taken o support a project, Healthy Outdoor Communities Initiative, that works to advance the equitable use of public parks and green space to improve mental health outcomes and quality of life for underserved children and families in the Houston area. For this episode of Into the Fold, we caught up with Sheila Savannah, director of Prevention Institute, the organization that coordinates the Communities of Care initiati

According to the World Health Organization, nearly a billion people worldwide have experienced some form of mental illness. This includes an estimated 5% of adults who experience depression, one in seven 10-19-year-olds who have experienced a mental health condition, and suicide being the fourth leading cause of death for young people aged 15-29 years. And people with severe mental disorders such as schizophrenia tend to die 10-20 years earlier than the general population. And that's without mentioning the COVID-19 pandemic. For this episode, we talk to two experts who have devoted their lives to global mental health. Vikram Patel, MD, is a professor of global health at the Harvard University Chan School of Public Health. In April 2015, he was listed as one of the world's 100 most influential people by TIME magazine. Fran Silvestri is director of the International Institute of Mental Health Leadership. Related links: Refugee Resilience and Well-being: A Voice from the Field https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcas

The LGBTQIA community has made some tremendous strides in the 21st century. Not only are gay people able to legally marry in the U.S. and many other Western nations, but transgender and nonbinary people have become increasingly visible and accepted among a growing swath of the public. Guides to proper pronoun usage have become increasingly commonplace, while transgender people also model forms of resilience and community-building that we all can learn from. But despite the progress, LGBTQIA people still face violence, discrimination and other threats to their well-being. For transgender and nonbinary people, there are troubling signs that the current climate is turning back toward repression and worse. Texas, with its lack of legal protections and a stigmatizing political climate, currently falls in the bottom quarter of rankings for support and acceptance of its nearly one million LGBTQIA youth and adults. To make matters worse, a wave of discriminatory legislation currently threatens the civil liberties a

Historically, the mental health system, and the conversation surrounding it, has given more value to the expert opinions of providers and clinicians than the experiences of those living with mental health conditions. Today, elevating the visibility of mental health consumers is now commonplace for mental health organizations, institutions, and leaders who recognize the many advantages of giving mental health consumers more autonomy and authority in the mental health space. But what else needs to happen before we’re able to truly say that mental health consumers have truly arrived? Helping us answer this is Noah Abdenour, Director of Peer and Recovery Services Programs, Planning and Policy for Texas HHS, and Anna Gray, director of Prosumers, a peer-run organization. Related links: Consumer Voice: Its Role in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-consumer-voice In Their Words: On Recovery https://hogg.utexas.edu/in-their-words-on-recovery Peer Support with an Artistic Flair https:

The teaching of history, like so much else in the present day, has become a political hot button—and The University of Texas at Austin hasn’t been spared. Over the last several months the campus has been roiled by controversies over the names of buildings, the placement of statues, and even the venerable “Eyes of Texas” song. And a largely ginned up controversy over “critical race theory” has been used to cast suspicion on the history profession as a whole. These developments worry historian Dr. Peniel Joseph, our guest for this episode. We explore the connection between history and mental health, as well as tensions on campus, through the eyes of this award-winning author and founding director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy at the LBJ School of Public Affairs. Related links: Episode 65: The Past Does Matter: Post-traumatic Slave Syndrome https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-the-past-does-matter Episode 73: Moving UT Austin’s Flagship of Diversity Forward https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-flag

The impact of COVID on children isn't limited to those of school age. For babies who are just beginning to experience the world amid the upheaval of the pandemic, the success that First3Years, a Hogg Foundation grantee, has had in pivoting its operations is a game-changer. The organization works to support the social and emotional development of infants and toddlers through a combination of training, services, advocacy and collaboration. In this episode Christy Serrano, Houston regional director for First3Years, talks about the key importance of community collaboration for infant and toddler mental health. Related links: Episode 118: Children in 2021: Grief and Loss https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-children-in-2021 Episode 98: COVID-19 and Children's Mental Health https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-covid-19-and-childrens-mental-health Communities of Care https://hogg.utexas.edu/communities-of-care-mental-health-well-being-houston-area

A recent Lancet study estimates that up to 1.5 million children worldwide have lost at least one primary or secondary caregiver as a result of the pandemic. Indeed, orphanhood and grief are an essential part of the story of this pandemic, one whose impact is just beginning to be understood. In this episode we explore the connection between caregiver death and children’s mental health with Laura Olague, director of Children’s Grief Center of El Paso, a grantee of the Hogg Foundation. In a bonus segment, Ryan Sutton, a former guest of the podcast, offers some timely reflections on Simone Biles and athlete mental health. Related links: Episode 98: COVID-19 and Children's Mental Health https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-covid-19-and-childrens-mental-health Hogg Foundation Awards $1 Million to Support Children’s Well-being across Texas https://hogg.utexas.edu/hogg-foundation-awards-1-million-to-support-childrens-well-being-across-texas WNBA Athlete Speaks Up on Mental Health in Sports https://hogg.utexas.edu/po

There is mounting evidence that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are experiencing more severe COVID-19 outcomes than the general population. In many ways, vaccination is a golden opportunity to address longstanding issues of equity and injustice. Our guest, Dr. Kara Ayers, PhD, is here to help us explore just how true that is for people with disabilities. Dr. Ayers is the Associate Director of the University of Cincinnati Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, and the co-founder of the Disabled Parenting Project. Related links: Episode 113: Vaccine Equity and Trust https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-vaccine-equity-and-trust

At the close of the first session of the Texas legislature to take place during the time of COVID, which had an enormous agenda to cover at breakneck speed, one thing is abundantly clear: meaningful engagement with public policy is challenging work. On this episode of the podcast, we sit down with three people dedicated to amplifying the voices of youth and young adults to advance mental health policy work in Texas. Our guests Río Gonzalez, Aurora Harris, and Raquel Murphy are part of Young Invincibles, a national organization with a Texas branch that is one of the Hogg Foundation’s newest grantees of its Policy Academy and Fellows Program, which aims to increase individuals’ and organizations’ capacity to advance mental health policy in Texas while also increasing the consumer voice in policy development and implementation.

The month of May happens to be both Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and Mental Health Month. The current period has been one of tragedy, hope and ongoing tension for Asians in the U.S. Since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in early 2020, Asians have been frequently scapegoated as bringers of contagion. More recently, a spate of violent attacks on Asian Americans has heightened their sense of vulnerability and brought issues of trauma to the forefront. For this episode of Into the Fold, we sought out comedienne Ivy Le, a second generation Vietnamese American podcaster, writer, performer and activist, to share her perspective on the status of Asian Americans in the year 2021 with a focus on the lessons this holds for those who care about mental health and building a more just and equitable future. Related links: Episode 101: Asian American Identity in the Time of COVID-19 https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-covid-19-and-asian-americans

It’s well established that children with histories of abuse demonstrate higher levels of depression, conduct disorder, PTSD, impaired social functioning and other problems. This is deeply entangled with how we discipline them. On this special episode of Into the Fold, we are teaming up with fellow member of the Texas Podcast Network, Marc Airhart, host of the Point of Discovery podcast from the University of Texas at Austin College of Natural Sciences. Together we talk with child discipline expert Dr. Elizabeth Gershoff, professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at UT Austin and the director of the Population Research Center, who has been studying the effects of physical discipline on children for two decades and is advocating for an end to the practice.

The term “vaccine hesitancy” is all the rage—but does it adequately explain what is going on in the minds of those who are “hesitant” to get the COVID-19 vaccine? By focusing on the hesitancy of individuals, do we risk losing sight of fundamental problems of access, equity, and trust? This episode features two interviews with experts whose work straddles the lines between medicine, community outreach, and health communications. First, we talk with Dr. Shalonda Horton, Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing, who is working on the frontlines at mobile vaccine clinics in Austin, followed by a conversation with Chelsea Brass, a communication studies doctoral student and former doctoral fellow for the Center for Health Communication in the Moody College of Communication and Melanie Connolly, a medical illustrator, 3D animator and marketing director for the Austin Healthcare Council, who designed a Vaccine Curiosity Tool to help resolve uncertainty about the COVID-19 vac

It is no longer “news” that the pandemic has devastated the restaurant industry. Here in Austin, dozens of iconic restaurants and venues did not make it through 2020. For the establishments that did survive, workers in the service industry face the daily stress of managing mask and social distancing mandates, dealing with recalcitrant customers, and caring for one’s workforce. Our guest on this episode is Nicole Cruz, a Case Manager at Southern Smoke, an organization that provides help and support to food and beverage industry workers. Nicole joins us to talk about what this unique industry is experiencing and the impact of the last year of the pandemic. Related links: Episode 69: Mental Health and the Musician's Life http://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-musician-mental-health

On February 14, 2021 the Hogg Foundation and the world lost a champion of mental health, Stephany J. Bryan. Stephany passed away due to complications related to COVID-19, and we at the foundation are deeply feeling this loss. Our dear friend and colleague had a spirit that was larger than life, full of passion, drive, and an unforgettable sense of humor. On this episode of the podcast, we are joined by two members of the Hogg Foundation, Vicky Coffee, Director of Programs, and Tammy Heinz, Senior Program Officer and Consumer & Family Liaison, as well as Luanne Southern, Executive Director of the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium – three of Stephany’s longtime friends and colleagues – to celebrate the life and legacy of the one and only Stephany J. Bryan. Related links: My Journey of Recovery: Stephany J. Bryan https://hogg.utexas.edu/my-journey-of-recovery-stephany-bryan Episode 77: Consumer Voice: Its Role in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-consumer-voice Hogg

In recognition of Women’s History Month, we are reaching into our archives to share a conversation between two history makers: Bert Kruger Smith and Maggie Kuhn. In this 1979 episode of The Human Condition, a radio series produced by the Hogg Foundation that ran from 1971 to 1983 on KUT, the show’s host Bert Kruger Smith interviews Maggie Kuhn, an American activist who founded the Gray Panthers movement in 1970. Their conversation puts at center stage the agency and creativity of older people, and addresses the challenges of organizing and mobilizing a specific community for the sake of doing effective advocacy — challenges that still ring true over forty years later.   Related links: Episode 33: Nightmare at Noon: The UT Tower Shooting https://hogg.utexas.edu/nightmare-at-noon-the-ut-tower-shooting Episode 54: Raising the Voices of Individuals with IDD https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-self-advocacy-idd Episode 76: From the Archives: Dr. Kenneth Clark on Racism and Child Well-Being https://hogg.utexas.edu

Last September, the Hogg Foundation issued a unique statement: a Declaration of Racism as a Mental Health Crisis. Its purpose is to call attention to the link between racial justice and mental health, and to argue that racism undermines our collective health and well-being. More than 200 organizations, including non-profits, cities, and public health associations, have co-signed this document. This episode of Into the Fold features a discussion with our three guests, each an esteemed figure in the world of public health: Josè Ramón Fernández-Peña, President at the American Public Health Association (APHA), Dr. J. Nadine Gracia, executive vice president at Trust for America’s Health (TFA), and our own Dr. Octavio N. Martinez, Jr., executive director of the Hogg Foundation. Together we talk about the Declaration, and how a broad effort to take its goals to heart can shape all of our futures for the better. Related links Hogg Foundation Declaration of Racism as a Mental Health Crisis https://hogg.utexas.edu/wh

For twenty-five years, Girls Empowerment Network has been helping young women across Texas discover that they are unstoppable. They have done so by laser-focusing their curriculum on one critical component: building self-efficacy, which is a girl’s belief in her ability to succeed. On this episode of the Into the Fold, we are joined by Vanessa Beltran, newly hired Mental Health Policy Fellow for Girls Empowerment Network, and her policy mentor Dr. Sarah Miller-Fellows, Director of Impact, to discuss the unique challenges facing girls and how self-efficacy helps young leaders advocate for themselves and their communities. Related links: Episode 54: Raising the Voices of Individuals with IDD Raising the Voices of Individuals with IDD https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-self-advocacy-idd Episode 75: Substance Use: A Public Health Approach https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-substance-use-policy Episode 78: Mental Health and Housing: The Need for Alternatives https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-mental-health-housing-alt