The Hogg Foundation for Mental Health at the University of Texas at Austin has announced grants totaling $1.1 million to expand the East Texas Coalition for Mental Health Recovery.

The grant funds will be used to add six providers of mental health services to the coalition, continue the work of the original coalition members, and support the coordination and implementation of ETCMHR activities. The new coalition member organizations are Bluebonnet Trails Community Services in Round Rock, the Gulf Bend Center in Victoria, the Gulf Coast Center in Galveston, the Lakes Regional MHMR Center in Terrell, Pecan Valley Centers in Granbury, and Tri-County Services in Conroe.

Launched in 2010 to build leadership capacity in the areas of mental health, recovery, and wellness and to increase consumer and family involvement in the Texas mental health system, the coalition provides peer specialist training and certification, educational opportunities, information sharing, Wellness Recovery Action Planning certification, and participation in Alternatives, a national mental health conference organized by and for consumers.

"The East Texas Coalition for Mental Health Recovery is an exciting and innovative grant program," said Hogg Foundation executive director Octavio N. Martinez, Jr. "It incorporates our mission of advancing mental health recovery and wellness with our foundation's focus on consumer and family involvement, while serving East Texas, a region of Texas that is grossly underserved with respect to mental health services."