Hill Country mental health funding reaches schools, nonprofits as demand for support continues

Nearly $780,000 in donated funds was distributed to Kerrville, Hunt and Ingram independent school districts to support grief counseling and mental health services for teachers and students as part of a broader $1 million commitment to help the Hill Country community heal.

The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country previously committed $1 million in donations to mental health needs after a study by Meadows Mental Health Policy found that access to care was critical to the community’s recovery.

During a meeting with reporters Monday, agencies and school officials outlined how the money has been used so far. They said emotional trauma does not follow a set timeline, and some children and adults are only now realizing they need support.

Sonerka Mouton, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, said she’s hearing good general feedback from counselors about how the program is helping teachers.

“Currently, we do have outside counseling to assist our students, and our counselors that are here on our campuses who have been trained as well,” Mouton said. ”And so the plan is eventually to hire more, looking at the needs of our students, and also looking at the needs of teachers.”

School district officials said the funding has helped support both students and staff members, especially teachers helping children navigate grief while processing their own emotions.

“This program is so important to our community because if our teachers aren’t healthy, then our students are not healthy,” Mouton said. “So this program has helped heal our students and our teachers on a daily basis, and I’m just so thankful for it.”

The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country said it is working with at least 13 nonprofits dedicated specifically to mental health. One mental health agency said it is seeing about 20 new clients each month.

The foundation said the work is also helping create a model for how communities can respond to mental health needs after a disaster.

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