On June 19, St. David’s Foundation awarded Integral Care $1.6 million to support operations at the Judge Guy Herman Center for Mental Health Crisis Care, which provides short-term emergency psychiatric crisis care for adults in a secure, protected residential environment before making a safe return to the community.

St. David’s Foundation has been instrumental in bringing this essential service to our community. In 2014, the foundation awarded Integral Care a capital grant to build a new mental health crisis center that would reduce strain on local emergency departments, reduce costs of care, and divert individuals experiencing a mental health crisis from jail. Three years later, Integral Care opened the Herman Center.

Since opening in 2017, the Herman Center has filled a critical gap in the local mental health safety net by offering additional psychiatric emergency beds in our community for those who do not require inpatient treatment. During a short-term stay, people can access services including crisis assessment, crisis stabilization and extended observation, medications, individual and group therapy, peer services, nursing services, case management, discharge planning, and linkage to ongoing care and additional community resources.

From July 2018 through May 2019, the Herman Center served 1,747 individuals, the majority of whom were referred by emergency departments or law enforcement. With the Herman Center in our community’s continuum of care, we can ensure that psychiatric crisis treatment is always available in the most appropriate and cost‐effective setting.

Learn more about St. David’s Foundations 2019 summer grants here.

Lead Editor: Nathaniel Hall, Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Team Peer Support Specialist

Bill Newcomb is the peer specialist for Integral Care’s Judge Guy Herman Center for Mental Health Crisis Care. Nathaniel Hall interviewed him.

Nathaniel: Part of a peer specialist’s job is mentoring. What does that include?

Bill: Mentorship is a relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps to guide a less experienced or less knowledgeable person.
Sometimes peer specialists can look like teachers or coaches or sponsors depending on what we’re doing. Peer specialists are experts in recovery and resilience. We’ve managed to get our life back on track after suffering a major disruption. Sharing our recovery story and what we’ve learned along the way is a major qualification for our job.

Nathaniel: Where do peer specialists get their expertise?

Bill: Life. My expertise comes from having lived with mental illness and all the associated challenges it presents. Peer specialists have all had major life disruptions due to mental illness and have survived and overcome. We use ourselves as examples, proof that people can, and do recover.
Recovery to me isn’t a destination, it’s a journey. One of my favorite quotes relating to peer support is “The first to help you up are the ones who know how it feels to fall down.”

Nathaniel: What does a peer specialist focus more on – recovery and wellness or illness and disease?

Bill: Recovery and wellness without a doubt. One of the most important jobs a peer specialist has is to tell our recovery story. This is very different from a “war story” in that the focus is on how we got through the tough times. How we survived. What helped us get better and what didn’t. This doesn’t mean we shy away from talking about the bad stuff, the illness and its impact. It’s the difference between just remembering the hard times and learning from the past.

One thing I’ve seen over the years is that people who struggle with mental illness often have a hard time having hope. Spending too much time focusing on problems can make them seem worse and lead people to a sense of hopelessness or powerlessness. Focusing on positive actions people can take gives them more of a sense of control and empowers them. Having ways of “fighting back” help people to not feel like helpless victims.

One of the things I do a lot of groups on is coping skills. The number one way to take a break for me is “pet a furry creature.”

Nathaniel: What does “peer advocacy” mean?

Bill: It’s frequently the case that people dealing with mental health challenges are told what their recovery should look like by family, friends or medical professionals. Peer specialists can help people define what they want their recovery to look like and help them to advocate for treatment that supports their goals.
Recovery means different things to different people. I define my own recovery as being able to live a happy and productive life, but I can’t impose my definition on anyone else. For some people, it might just mean staying out of psychiatric hospitals. That was my main goal when I was newly diagnosed. Promoting self-determination is literally the first principle in the certified peer specialist code of ethics.
Another way peer specialists help advocate for our clients is navigating the mental health system itself. Sometimes this can mean translating the language used by specialists, for example “doctor speak.” Sometimes it can mean aiding someone in finding help or resources.

The Herman Center offers adults emergency mental health care in a safe overnight facility. Staff help adults who are in crisis by providing medical support, emotional support, medicine and connection to ongoing services. The Herman Center does not accept walk-ins. Referrals come from law enforcement and healthcare providers, like local emergency departments.

By Karen Ranus of NAMI Central Texas and Ellen Richards of Integral Care

Being Superwomen – juggling family, career, relationships, community service and aging parents – puts us at risk. Trying to do it ALL, women often forget to put themselves on the “to do” list. Neglecting to take care of ourselves can and does impact our mental health.

Research shows that women are twice as likely as men to experience depression, anxiety and PTSD, and twice as likely to attempt suicide. Yet, few of us recognize mental health is just as important as physical health. One in five people – women, men and children – experience a mental health issue in their lifetime. Mental illness is actually far more common than cancer. It is a brain-based disorder, deserving the same care, treatment and respect as a physical illness. But we still have work to do when it comes to bringing mental illness out of the shadows.

Mental Health Month and National Women’s Health Week are recognized in May, creating an opportunity to raise awareness and share resources. If you or a female relative, friend or colleague experiences a mental health issue, here are things you can do:

1. Seek help from a professional. Help is available and recovery is possible. Integral Care has a 24/7 Helpline (512-472-HELP/4357) for anyone who needs immediate emotional support – even if you’re just having a bad day. Mental health professionals are available around the clock to offer help without judgement and connection to services like integrated mental and primary health care and counseling.
2. Take a free class or join a support group with NAMI Central Texas. NAMI supports individuals who experience a mental illness and their family members as they move toward recovery. People come together to connect, learn and share resources. Learn more at NAMICentralTX.org.
3. Share your story. When women share their stories, we have the power to shift the conversation around mental health, create change in our healthcare system and improve mental health care for everyone. Being open about our own struggles empowers our community to recognize and talk about mental health without shame or stigma.
4. Be compassionate and offer support. Just as you would reach out to someone diagnosed with cancer, reach out to someone experiencing a mental health issue. Share food, send a card, drive them to an appointment. Take Integral Care’s free Mental Health First Aid class to learn how to help someone experiencing a mental health issue or crisis. Register at integralcare.org/MHFA.

As we are told before taking off for a flight, “put on your oxygen mask first before assisting others.” Protecting our health and well-being are essential for women to continue to thrive. Women strengthen our community when we take care of ourselves just as we take care of others. Tending to our mental health is as important as our physical health. With access to quality mental health care and connection to a strong support network, we build health and well-being and become a more resilient community.

Karen Ranus is the Executive Director of NAMI Central Texas, the local chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Learn more at NAMICentralTX.org.
Ellen Richards is the Chief Strategy Officer of Integral Care, the Local Mental Health and Intellectual and Developmental Disability Authority for Travis County. Learn more at IntegralCare.org.

If you missed our Community Forum: A Home is More Than Four Walls, check out the recap on our podcast This Is Integral. Darilynn Cardona-Beiler, our Director of Adult Behavioral Health Services, Chris Laguna, our Practice Administrator for Housing and Homeless Services, and Anne Nagelkirk, our Director of Communications and Engagement share some of their favorite moments from the forum and talk about Integral Care’s work in homelessness and housing.

I am pleased to announce that Integral Care’s Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18) Annual Report is now available. I invite you to learn about the work we did in 2018 to support adults and children living with mental illness, substance use disorder and intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).

As I reflect on last year, the word integration comes to mind. Integral Care believes in serving the whole person through integrated care. We believe that community systems and partners must collaborate at all levels, integrating their expertise, to advance the whole health of our community. In FY18, Integral Care partnered with the City of Austin, Travis County and Central Health, criminal justice, first responders, school districts, non-profit community-based organizations and healthcare providers to strengthen our local systems, improve access to care, and raise awareness around issues of mental health, substance use disorder and IDD.

Together, we are helping Travis County thrive and are moving closer to our vision of Healthy Living for Everyone.

David Evans

Chief Executive Officer

A home means access and connection to community, quality health care, and recovery – all of which help build health and well-being. Organizations across Travis County work to prevent homelessness as well as engage individuals experiencing homelessness, connecting them to housing so they can regain their health and independence. When people have a safe place to call home and access to support services in the community, they can thrive and meet their full potential.

Big thanks to our panelists Lisa Garcia, Vice President of Assisted Housing at the Housing Authority of the City of Austin Department of Assisted Housing, Alan Graham, Founder & Chief Executive Officer at Mobile Loaves & Fishes, Julian Huerta, Deputy Executive Director at Foundation Communities, and Darilynn Cardona-Beiler, Director of Adult Behavioral Health Systems at Integral Care.

Women are twice as likely as men to experience depression. Twice as likely to attempt suicide. The differences in how women experience mental health are real. Research identifies disparities between men and women in terms of risk, prevalence, presentation and treatment sought and received. For this month’s Transparencies, our Chief Strategy Officer, Ellen Richards and NAMI Austin’s Executive Director, Karen Ranus, talk about women’s mental health and how our community is addressing mental health issues.

Read more in our monthly newsletter, Transparencies.

The 86th Texas Legislative session is in full swing, with less than two months remaining. With over 7,500 bills filed, legislators are working hard to address a wide range of issue areas – from substance use disorder to mental health in schools. We’re following the progress at the Capitol and here’s the news worth noting.

Read more in our monthly newsletter, Transparencies.

Travis County’s robust economy has not come without its challenges. Our recent growth is greater than nearly any other large metro area in the country, and our human services infrastructure must innovate to keep pace. Of particular priority is increasing accessible and affordable treatment for substance use disorder in our community.

In general, funding for substance use treatment services is lacking. For the Travis County community, service availability has decreased in recent years due to funding issues. For those who cannot afford the high cost of private pay services and medication, this results in waitlists for services and limited access to medications. To complicate this further, individuals are often dealing with more than just a substance use disorder diagnosis.

“Home is where one starts from.”
TS Eliot

Terrace at Oak Springs is Integral Care’s newest permanent supportive housing community. 50 individuals who are experiencing homelessness will have a safe place to call home, helping them on the road to recovery.

Many of the future residents have been living on the streets with nothing but what fits in a backpack.  You can provide household essential items exclusively for Terrace at Oak Springs – kitchen tools, bathroom supplies, linens and more — to help make the apartments feel like homes.

We have partnered with COCObundle, a local social enterprise that has curated the registry of household goods. Once a bundle is purchased, COCObundle handles the rest—from stocking the products to creating welcome packages for each of the 50 residents to delivering the items to Terrace. When new residents arrive on move-in day, they already will have welcome packages in their unit.

To donate a bundle for a future resident, simply visit the Integral Care campaign on the COCObundle website and select your preferred bundle.

In lieu of a bundle, you can also make a donation to support the future residents of Terrace at Oak Springs.