Repairs Complete Thanks To A Nearly $50,000 Award From Local Foundation
WACO, TX – The roof repair at the Heart of Texas Behavioral Health Network’s (HOTBHN)2010 LaSalle Avenue facility in Waco—which houses the Veterans One Stop and Behavioral Justice Programs—has been completed. HOTBHN wants to thank the Cooper Foundation for its nearly $50,000 award in March 2023.
“It’s community partners that make projects that benefit our citizens successful, and the Cooper Foundation is just such an example,” said Melinda Bonds, Associate Director of Behavioral Health Services for HOTBHN. “The Veterans One Stop and Behavioral Justice Center has needed roof replacement for quite some time. Continuous patch and repair work was not enough to keep up with the rapidly deteriorating roof at 2010 LaSalle. The Cooper Foundation stepped up with the funding to meet this basic need and allow these programs to continue! HOTBHN is so grateful to have the Cooper Foundation as a partner!”
Bonds stressed that roof replacement was critical to avoid even more costly future repairs and replacement.
“Support from the Cooper Foundation for roof repair will allow valuable services to continue and stop any further damage to the roof. Successful completion of this project will impact Waco to include the continuation of over 12,000 annual services provided at the Veterans One Stop and services to approximately 3,600 individuals annually in McLennan County through the Behavioral Justice Center (BJC).
“Prevention and intervention services at the Veterans One Stop, including crisis intervention and suicide prevention, have resulted in decreased suicides in the community,” Bonds added. “The national suicide rate for veterans continues to be 17.3 per day, while Texas is at 1.44 veterans who die by suicide per day. The Veterans One Stop clinical staff know of 32 suicide preventions in a five-year period; however, this is likely a conservative amount reported.
“BJBJC programs impact the recidivism rate, which is at most 11%. Texas’s recidivism rate for the general population is 20.3%, almost double that amount nationally. Without a doubt, these programs have a positive impact on Waco and its citizens. Thanks to the Cooper Foundation, these great HOTBHN services will continue, “Bonds said.
The Cooper Foundation was founded in 1943 as a tribute to Madison A. Cooper and Martha Roane Cooper, with a vision of making Waco a better and more desirable city in which to live. It has contributed over $32 million to fulfill its mission. The Heart of Texas Behavioral Health Network is honored to partner with the Cooper Foundation to help our consumers with these needed repairs.
Contact:
Tanya Ledesma,
Public Information Coordinator
Cell: (254) 640-5229
