Health Care

Grant Halliburton Foundation launches Hispanic outreach initiative, website

Grant Halliburton Foundation was established in 2006 in memory of a Dallas teen who battled depression and bipolar disorder for several years before his suicide death at the age of 19. The Foundation that bears his name works to help families and young people recognize the signs of mental illness through a variety of avenues including education, conferences, collaboration and encouragement. 

The Foundation provides mental health education, training and support to students, educators, parents and professionals. The Foundation also offers Here For Texas, which includes HereForTexas.com and the Here For Texas Mental Health Navigation Line. These free community tools aim to offer easy access for North Texans seeking mental health and addiction information and resources.

This month, the Foundation has added a Spanish language website, HereForTexas.com/espanol to ensure that mental health information and a provider database are also available in Spanish. This launch purposefully coincides with Mental Health Awareness Month, the national movement to raise awareness about mental health,

“The Hispanic population is diverse and comprises the largest ethnic minority group in Texas at 50 percent,” Garcia said. “While this community suffers from the same mental health conditions the rest of the country faces, cultural differences and language barriers may lead mental health professionals to misdiagnose Hispanics, and fear of having the stigma of a mental illness prevents some from seeking help, ” says Blanca N. Garcia, LCSW-S, director of mental health resources at Grant Halliburton Foundation.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI) and Hispanic Star:

·       18% of Hispanic adults have a mental illness

·       Only 34% access mental health treatment

·       Treatment barriers are stigma, cost and language

·       More than 10 million Latinos in the U.S. reported having a mental illness

·       35.1% of Hispanic or Latino residents received treatment for mental illness.

The goals of the Hispanic outreach initiative are to make all of Grant Halliburton Foundation’s information, presentations and resources available in Spanish, with information that is culturally relevant and appropriate for people who are Hispanic or who grew up in a Hispanic household. To that end, the Foundation has translated all of its marketing and educational materials into Spanish, updated the information in its brochures and mental health presentations to ensure that they are accurate, and will continue to provide bilingual services to callers on the Here For Texas Mental Health Navigation Line.

Callers to the no-cost Here For Texas Mental Health Navigation Line are connected to a trained mental health navigator who can offer support and information about services and resources in their area. These are trained volunteers who gather pertinent information from the caller regarding their needs. Then, an experienced mental health professional helps to identify specific resources tailored to the caller’s needs within 24 hours. Note: The Mental Health Navigation Line is not a crisis line, but navigators can direct callers to additional crisis resources.

Garcia added, “I want the Hispanic community to start talking about mental health, so they aren’t afraid to reach out for care when someone in the family needs help. From new families immigrating to the U.S. to first-generation Texans, there are so many mental health conditions that go unaddressed. We’re taught to be strong and keep working hard no matter what. Our Hispanic families deserve to be taken care of too, especially in terms of mental health. We want to make sure they have access to information, support and resources.”

Grant Halliburton Foundation works with other trusted Hispanic-serving organizations like The Concilio, Therapy Works Counseling, Bachman Lake Together, Cannenta Center, Community Does It and DFW Hispanic Heritage Ambassadors, among others. As partners, the Foundation provides its services and resources to these organizations. “We hope the Foundation will be the go-to place for mental health questions, information and resources for the Hispanic community,” Garcia said.

Mental illness affects individuals from all walks of life, and suicide rates are rising at alarming levels for many, including Black and Hispanic communities. Garcia remarked, “I’m proud Grant Halliburton Foundation is choosing to lead by example, and I hope that those who look like me and my family members, speak the language, and share the culture will trust us. Our goal is to help them find appropriate help and resources for themselves and their families.”

United HealthCare provided a grant to translate the website. The grant also allowed the Foundation to hire two Hispanic Outreach staff members who are master’s-level social workers and native Spanish speakers.

DFW501c.news publishes every week.
All of our reporting takes hours of time to curate, research and report news that can impact the work you do!

Your contribution of a few dollars a month will support our reporters, expand our coverage and ensure we continue bringing you timely, relevant nonprofit news!

Support This Site

About the author

Barbara Clark Galupi