October 2010
In October 2005, Texas was one of seven states to be awarded a Mental Health Transformation State Incentive Grant (MHT-SIG) from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration SAMHSA). The MHT-SIG originated from the President’s 2003 New Freedom Commission Report on Mental Health, Achieving the Promise: Transforming Mental Health Care in America. Through this grant, Texas was charged with transforming mental health services in the state by “building a solid foundation for delivering evidence-based mental health and related services, fostering recovery, improving quality of life, and meeting the multiple needs of mental health consumers across the lifespan” (Texas Department of State Health Servces, n.d. www.mhtransformation.org). Via Hope, Texas Mental Health Resource was created through the Texas MHT Project, in collaboration with the Department of State Health Services (DSHS), Mental Health America of Texas (MHAT), and the National Alliance on Mental Illness Texas (NAMI). Via Hope promotes mental health wellness to Texans by providing training and technical assistance resources to consumers, youth and family members. In addition to providing classroom and online training courses in a wide variety of mental health subject areas, Via Hope also provides training and certification for peer specialists and facilitates a learning community in order to help mental health agencies integrate peer specialists into their Centers (Via Hope, n.d. www.viahope.org).
Authors
Laura Kaufman, B.S.
Michelle Steinley-Bumgarner, M.A.
Stacey Stevens-Manser, Ph.D.
Michele Murphy-Smith, Ph.D., R.N., R.D.