Strengthening Mental Health Support Across the Hill Country
Since our founding, Create Healthy has prioritized supporting more timely access to mental health care and resources in our communities.
Mental health is one of our five strategic funding priorities, and to date we have invested almost $3.5 million in grants and other philanthropic donations to Hill Country organizations, such as Good Samaritan, The Grace Center, Hill Country MHDD, and Mercy Gate Ministries. In partnership with these organizations, we are working collectively to advance access to high-quality mental health care for children, teens, adults, and seniors across the region.
Funded Partner Spotlight: The Grace Center
Create Healthy provided The Grace Center of Fredericksburg with $122,500 in funding in 2024 for operational support to help the nonprofit organization fund critical services, staff, and outreach programs for survivors of domestic and family violence.
“From the beginning, our community has told us that mental health care, support, and resiliency should be top priorities,” said Jayne Pope, RN, president and CEO, Create Healthy. “That’s why our mental health work takes diverse forms, from direct philanthropic giving to convening and supporting the people and organizations in our community who are on the frontlines of mental health care.”
Another component of our mental health commitment is the Hill Country Mental Health Coalition, which brings together schools, law enforcement, social services organizations, behavioral health providers, and other community partners from across the region. Initially convened with Create Healthy support in 2024, the Coalition is a forum to identify needs and service gaps, strengthen relationships, share data and information, and encourage collaboration.
Out of those conversations came HillCountryResources.org, a free online directory for Hill Country residents, social services staff, and first responders to quickly and easily find local human services resources including mental health support, family services, food and shelter assistance.
“Hill Country Resources was created with one goal: to make it easier for our neighbors to access support close to home,” said Mikki Hand, executive director of Frontera Healthcare and chair of the Hill Country Mental Health Coalition. “Participating Coalition members early on identified that we need a tool that is easy to use, up-to-date, and built for our region.”
Mental Health Awareness Week is a reminder that mental health care and support take many forms, and Create Healthy is investing in local programs, initiatives, and community organizations that share our mission to expand access to compassionate, accessible mental health care.
Explore local mental health and human services resources at HillCountryResources.org.
Learn more about our mental health funded partners and how to apply for funding.
