Ten nonprofit advocacy groups received a total of $1.3 million in grants over two years to hire in-house policy or peer policy fellows.
The Mental Health Policy Academy and Fellows initiative, launched in 2010, builds both individual and organizational capacity for effective mental health policy and advocacy work. Fellows receive intensive training, education and experience in mental health policy while host organizations benefit from additional staff to help move their missions forward.
In 2016, the initiative was expanded with the launch of the Peer Policy Fellows program to create opportunities for certified peer specialists—people in recovery from lived mental health and/or substance use experience. This component of the initiative increases the role and voice of peers in mental health policy development and implementation and builds peer capacity to effectively engage in advocacy.
Each fellow is provided with an experienced mentor. Both fellows and mentors attend the Hogg Mental Health Policy Academy, coordinated by Texans Care for Children. The academy provides training on legislative processes, mental health systems, and issue areas, as well as offering an enriching network for the fellows, mentors and others involved in mental health advocacy work in Texas.
The 2018 Policy Fellow grant recipients are:
- Corporation for Supportive Housing
- National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Texas
- Texas Casa, Inc.
- United Way for Greater Austin
- United Ways of Texas
The 2018 Peer Policy Fellow grant recipients are:
- Grassroots Leadership
- Texas Jail Project
- RecoveryPeople
- San Antonio Clubhouse
- Texas Criminal Justice Coalition
Contact the grantees directly for information on these fellowship positions.
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