Bernard and Audre Rapoport Foundation Awards $400,000 For Behavioral Health Initiative
WACO, TX – The Bernard and Audre Rapoport Foundation has awarded the Heart of Texas Behavioral Health Network, formerly Heart of Texas Region MHMR Center, a $400,000 grant to further advance a building project that will better centralize and innovate behavioral health services in Central Texas. This follows a generous $100,000 planning grant awarded by the Foundation in December 2020.
The Crisis Hub project would center around the development of a new crisis facility on a six-acre South Waco property roughly equal distance between Waco’s two hospitals.
“We are proud to play a part in the visioning of the crisis hub project through the McLennan County Behavioral Health Team (BHLT) as well as being one of several funding partners in the community,” said Jenny Peel, Grants Manager for the Bernard and Audre Rapoport Foundation. “A project of this magnitude doesn’t happen by itself. The Rapoport Foundation is proud to stand alongside McLennan County and the City of Waco as they recognized the critical importance of expanded behavioral health services and funded accordingly, and we look forward to additional collaborative funders from the local level and statewide.”
The new crisis facility would serve all six of the Center’s regional counties (McLennan, Bosque, Falls, Freestone, Hill, and Limestone counties) and would be the entry point into the Center’s crisis system in a centralized, cohesive location for various state-funded services and supports. It also incorporates other services, such as physical health and additional substance use disorder services, to be provided by various community partners. Furthermore, it builds upon other projects currently underway between the City of Waco, McLennan County, and MHMR, including a medical clearance component designed to divert individuals from local emergency departments. Under the medical clearance project, the hub would provide treatment of minor medical issues and medical clearance for low acuity individuals. The provision of these services will decrease the amount of time it takes for an individual to begin receiving care. It will also decrease the amount of time law enforcement will be involved, allowing them to return to their regular duties more quickly, and reduce the burden on local emergency departments.
The Bernard and Audre Rapoport Foundation, established in 1986, has been a generous contributor to the community, awarding over $80 million in grants to improve the social fabric of life in seeking innovative solutions to intractable and persistent problems, and strives to cultivate emerging talents and promising models.
“The Heart of Texas Region MHMR Center is honored and expresses deep thanks to the Bernard and Audre Rapoport Foundation for its generous award,” said Vince Erickson, Communications Director for the Center. “The grant will certainly bolster our shared commitment to improve the lives of Central Texans who need accessible, caring and responsive support services for families and individuals who are coping with mental illness, substance use, intellectual disabilities, developmental delays and emotional conflict.”
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CONTACT:
Vince Erickson, Director of Public Information and
#TexansRecoveringTogether CCP
Cell: (254) 265-2030
