
Mental Health Awareness Month 2023
For the month of May, the Hogg Foundation is celebrating Mental Health Awareness Month. Throughout the month we’ll be highlighting stories of recovery, strides in mental health policy, and the many things our grantee partners are doing to transform mental health in their communities.
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Week 4 – Mental Health Matters for Youth
The theme for this week is, “Mental Health Matters for Youth.” During this week we are highlighting how mental health matters to young people, and what young people themselves are doing to transform mental health in Texas.

New Voices Showcase for Youth
The New Voices Showcase for Youth was an opportunity for young people ages 16 to 24 to answer the question, “How would the world be different if it cared about my mental health?”
New Voices Showcase: Aysha Alibin-Skinner
Aysha Alibin-Skinner is a Sophomore at Blanson Career and Technology High School in Houston, Texas. Watch her winning video.
New Voices Showcase: Ashlee Young
A video created by Ashlee Young, a graduate student at Texas Southern University.
If Only
Ms. Droddy is a 22-year old who has struggled with schizophrenia and hopes to make a difference in this world.
Muted
“I am striving to find avenues where I can express my creativity through the medium of film.”. -Eli Fischer
Joshua Styles: New Voices Showcase
Watch Joshua Styles’s prize-winning video in the New Voices Showcase for Youth.
Winona’s Monster
In the summer of 2022, the Hogg Foundation launched the New Voices Showcase for Youth. The goal of this project is to highlight the voices of young creatives aged 16-24 and address the question, “How would the world be different if it cared about your mental health?”...
In Tune: Music Therapy for Kids
Into the Fold, Episode 148
In this episode of Into the Fold we’re talking about music therapy as a uniquely powerful way to help kids with their mental health, even for those dealing with severe challenges such as parental incarceration, suicidal ideation, and trauma.
A Royal Visit
Last fall, the Hogg Foundation joined forces with our wonderful grantee partner, Resilient Bastrop County, to co-host a unique event: a visit by her royal majesty, Queen Maxima of the Netherlands.
Queen Máxima has a passion for youth mental health, and as a part of her US tour last week, she visited with rural Texas youth. Read Story
In September, Bastrop played host to an extraordinary gathering. Hogg staff, community leaders, and international mental health leaders met with Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands. Watch Video
New Voices Showcase: A Compilation
The New Voices Showcase was an opportunity for talented and aspiring writers to submit personal essays describing how their mental health has been impacted during this time of heightened injustice, race-related trauma, and the COVID-19 pandemic. See all of the submitted entries.

Week 3 – Mental Health Matters at the Capitol
The theme for this week is, “Mental Health Matters at the Capitol.” During this week we are highlighting important developments in public policy and their impact on mental health in Texas.
Family Services Center of Galveston
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Policy Podcasts
The Hogg Foundation podcast, Into the Fold, frequently features in-depth discussion on mental health public policy in Texas. Here are some recent examples.
A Reality Check Session Update from the Hogg Policy Team
Sine Die, or the last day of the Texas Legislature, is May 29th. Here are some highlights from the Hogg Policy Team.
Some More Good News in Public Policy
Hogg Foundation for Mental Health · Episode 147: Some More Good News in Public Policy In addition to supporting our grantee partners’ community programs, the Hogg Foundation also encourages their efforts to build capacity in state and local policy engagement....
Some Good News in Public Policy
In episode 146, we’re joined by J.J. Ramirez to learn more about the harm reduction movement and some positive policy developments addressing substance use.
Social Work in a Time of Division
We spoke with two Texas-based social workers to explore their perspectives on practicing social work in a time of division.
Teaching in a Time of Division
In episode 144, we speak with two public school teachers about their experiences teaching in a time of cultural and political division
Episode 142: Empowering Our Girls in 2023
Hogg Foundation for Mental Health · Episode 142: Empowering Girls in 2023 Challenged by time constraints, small budgets, and a lack of expertise, many small nonprofit organizations struggle to successfully engage in public policy. With the goal of increasing these...
Safe and Supportive Schools for Every Texas Student

As we all look at COVID-19’s effects, the mental health and emotional impact on our kids is evident: trauma, depression, substance use, and suicidal thoughts have all risen the last two years. While the pandemic undoubtedly exacerbated our youth’s struggles, their need for mental health supports is not new. Students have witnessed mass shootings targeting schools and specific populations, national conversations on race, and extreme weather events. These experiences have profound impacts on children’s mental health.
Week 2 – Why Mental Health Matters
The theme for this week is, “Why Mental Health Matters.” During this week we are showcasing voices from the community who give their thoughts on why mental health matters, and what it would look like for their world to value mental health.

Videos: What Mental Means to Me
Throughout the month we are asking for short videos from Texas residents describing what mental health means to them.
New Voices Showcase for Adults
The New Voices Showcase highlighted talented writers and creatives who are living with or in recovery from mental health challenges.
Combat Fatigue
I found myself screaming obscenities at the retreating truck, daring the two White guys in it to come back and face me.
NVS Winner: Sincerely, Hurt
To my Asian brothers and sisters, Take it from me: we have been so tragically fooled.
Aren’t I a Human Being?
I am a human being… right…? I was born into this world by human beings. Just as everyone else was, If that’s the case…why do I feel like such an alien…?
My Marathon Journey to Mental Health
When the pandemic forced the shutdown of my job in March 2020 it wasn’t the first time I faced major setbacks in my recovery journey.
Triggered by Lights: Red, White, and Blue
What I remember most were the blinding red and blue lights! At four years old, I was very frightened as a police officer took me from my home.
Dear Pandemic Child
The second you were born, I knew that something special happened in the world. You were certainly born a fighter!
Visionary Voices on Mental Health
These blog posts offer thoughtful reflections on hope, healing, and history.
Moore Fellowships
The Harry E. and Bernice M. Moore Fellowship is to doctoral students from UT Austin who demonstrate a primary research interest in the human experience in crises. Learn more about their groundbreaking work.
New Voices Showcase for Family and Caregivers
The New Voices Showcase also highlighted the unique experiences of family members and caregivers of people living with mental health challenges.
My Husband, My Hero
I swore I was destined to be alone. I watched my mother get married to the same man with a different face four times and each marriage ended in disaster.
Pizza! Pizza! Read All About It!
“Pizza” is probably not the first word that comes to mind when recalling the recent pandemic and its profound effects on the state of a family’s mental health.
Black Family Mental Health 2020
I sat in my writing room with my headphones on in hopes of drowning out the sounds of everyone’s Zoom meetings. I was miserable from all our family togetherness.
Stephany June Bryan: Bold Spirit of Achievement Scholarships
The Hogg Foundation awards $5000 annual scholarships in honor of Stephany June Bryan, a beloved Senior Program Officer and Consumer & Family Liaison at the foundation for over 12 years, until her untimely passing from COVID-19.
Stephany June Bryan Bold Spirit of Achievement Scholarship Winner: Fostering Safe Spaces for Healing
Graduate student Crystal Rhodes chosen as recipient of 2023 Stephany June Bryan Scholarship.
Stephany June Bryan Bold Spirit of Achievement Scholarship winner: Empathy, Guidance and Healing
Elliott Niblack, has been selected as one of two 2022 recipients of the Stephany June Bryan: Bold Spirit of Achievement Scholarship.
Stephany June Bryan Bold Spirit of Achievement Scholarship winner: Transformation and Ministry
The Hogg Foundation for Mental Health has chosen Keneisha Johnson, a student pursuing an Associate of Arts degree in Biblical Studies, as one of two 2022 recipients of the Stephany June Bryan Bold Spirit of Achievement Scholarship. The award will allow Johnson to...

Week 1 – Look Around, Look Within
This theme was created by Mental Health America as a way to talk about the connections between mental health and the natural and built environment – the places where we are born, live, learn, work, play, and gather.
Climate Anxiety and Young People
Earth Day is an opportunity to assess the current health of our physical environment and explore ways to protect and improve it.
Changing the Landscape: People, Parks and Power
Access to the outdoors and green space is a key social determinant of mental health.
Designing for Mental Health
What if going to the clinic was an empowering experience? Design thinking can make it so.
Communities of Care Year Three Showcase
Our grantee partners are currently engaged in numerous projects designed to enhance well-being in their communities. Here are several examples from our Communities of Care grantee partners.
Asian Americans Attaining Awareness
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Connect Community
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East End Community Collaborative
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Healthy Outdoor Communities
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Project Rise and Shine
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Babies in Baytown
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Dream 77021
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The Future is Us
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Hiram Clarke Community Resilience
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Reaching Richmond
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