Advancing Mental Health in Texas

The Hogg Foundation invests in mental health programs, research, policy and public education to further our mission of transforming how communities promote mental health in everyday life. We are proud to help advance community mental health across Texas.

Success Stories

Where Are They Now? Celebrating the Ima Hogg Scholarships

We’re looking back at the Ima Hogg Scholarships program. Established in 1956, the scholarship aims to strengthen the mental health workforce, with a special emphasis on social workers. Feature Story

Grantee Spotlight: A Community-Led Collaborative Moves Forward

Having developed a robust and inclusive community collaborative that reflects the county’s diverse and historically underrepresented population, Brooks County residents are finding inspiring and effective ways to support and strengthen their mental health and well-being. Learn more. 

Grantee Spotlight: Playing for the Future

As the natural language of childhood, play allows children to better express their feelings, thoughts, and experiences than words. Indeed, play therapy is to children what counseling is to adults. Learn more

A Retrospective on a Decade of Investment

We take a look back at our decade of investment in our Mental Health Policy Academy and Policy Fellow Initiative. Learn more

Integrating Mental Health Care in the Medical Setting

With its unique blend of experiential learning and training in the social determinants of health, the Integrated Behavioral Health Scholars Program at Dell Medical School transforms the medical school experience. Learn more

Stephany J. Bryan: Peer, Advocate, and Trailblazer for Mental Health and Recovery

Stephany J. Bryan (October 31, 1956 – February 14, 2021) dedicated her life to supporting and strengthening families and communities through advocacy, education, peer support, and collaboration. During her 13-year tenure as Senior Program Officer and Consumer & Family Liaison at the Hogg Foundation, Stephany touched the lives of colleagues and consumers, both personally and professionally, across many areas of mental health and recovery. Learn more

Sustainable Support for Grieving Students

In August 2019, a small nonprofit offering grief services in El Paso was overwhelmed with families in sudden need of support. The organization was the Children’s Grief Center (CGC) of El Paso, and the precipitous event was the 2019 mass shooting at a local Walmart, the deadliest attack on Latinos in modern American history. Learn more 

Grantees Dig Deep in Response to COVID

In March of 2020, the Hogg Foundation, like much of the rest of the world, had to pivot due to a public health catastrophe. With this pivot, we wanted to support the tireless work of our grantees and their efforts to fulfill their missions. Here we focus on just two: Texas CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) and Galveston County Food Bank. Learn more 

A Joyful Noise: Peerfest

“Noise” isn’t typically thought of as a desirable outcome for a professional conference. But PeerFest, modeled on the national Alternatives Conference, offered attendees a restorative mix of the practical and the experiential – sessions on neuroplasticity mingled with workshops on therapeutic drumming. Learn more 

Peer Support in Integrated Health Settings Leads to Better Community Mental Health

Recovery was once a distant possibility for Elsa Roman. Now, she serves as a Peer Support Specialist for Hope Family Health Center, where she harnesses the power of lived experience to inspire healing, reduce stigma and promote a deeper understanding of person-centered, recovery-oriented care. Learn more 

Inclusion in Faith Circles Through Mental Health Education

For years, Eugenia sought the right kind of support for her eldest son Greg who has special needs. It’s a struggle African Americans living in rural Texas know all too well. Often, in lieu of clinical sources of aid, African Americans turn to spiritual advisors and circles instead. At God’s Way Christian Baptist Church, Eugenia and her son found both. Learn more

Cultivating the Next Generation of Psychologists

While completion of a doctoral internship is required for students training to become licensed psychologists, shortages in available positions delay licensure and impede the expansion and retention of a quality behavioral health workforce. In an effort to expand and diversify opportunities, the Hogg Foundation funded the development and accreditation of eight internship programs across Texas. Learn more

Changing Mental Health Policy in Texas

When an organization’s capacity for working on mental health policy issues increases, the needs and voices of Texans living with mental illness have a greater impact on policymaking. Unfortunately, many organizations lack the resources or expertise to tackle mental health policy issues head on. The Hogg Foundation Policy Academy and Fellows Program are increasing capacity and expertise to advance mental health policy in Texas. Learn more

The Practice of Recovery

For many years, individuals who were identified as having a mental illness were merely “treated” with no hope of a better life. However, there has been a shift from a medical model of treatment to recovery-oriented care. The American Psychiatric Nurses Association Texas Chapter is integrating and promoting recovery among organizations throughout Texas. Learn more

Integrating a Fragmented System of Care

As the first agency to offer integrated health care to children in state custody, Harris County Protective Services is well poised to educate others on model implementation and to spearhead the evolution of the integrated health care model so that it can serve the unique needs of child populations. Learn more

Mental Illness and the Criminal Justice System

What happens when someone with behavioral health conditions is released from jail? The story of reentry highlights issues in the Texas criminal justice system. Via Hope is helping people with mental illness re-enter the community with support from trained Peer Specialists and Certified Recovery Coaches. Learn more

Peer Support for Young Adults

Youth who experience trauma and abuse are often poorly served by their communities. They may be seen as troublemakers when, in reality, they’re showing behavioral symptoms of their experiences. Houston Health Department is training and finding meaningful work for young peers, and enabling youth with mental health conditions to lead more successful lives. Learn more

Healthy Educators for Healthy Kids

Addressing the mental health needs of students can be challenging for teachers and faculty who may be excellent educators, but have little training in adolescent mental health or trauma. Through their trauma-informed approach to behaviors in schools, Vida Clinic has established a campus-based mental health system that includes individualized, confidential, solution-focused services for teachers. Learn more

Scholarship and Fellowship Awardee Stories

The Hogg Foundation offers graduate-level scholarships and fellowships. The Ima Hogg Scholarships in Mental Health, Harry E. and Bernice M. Moore Fellowship for Doctoral Research, and Frances Fowler Wallace Memorial for Mental Health Dissertation Award fund continued education and research on mental health issues. Check out the outstanding work of past awardees:

Marian Morris: A Discourse Analysis of How Nurses Talk about ADHD in Preschool-Age Children

Pamela Recto: Mental Health Literacy of Mexican-American Adolescents

Hannah Szlyk: Rethinking Youth Suicide

Courtney Valentine: Post-Traumatic Stress and Protective Factors for Youth Investigated for Maltreatment During Adolescence

Meet the 2019 Ima Hogg Scholarship Recipients