Hogg Foundation for Mental Health

Hogg Foundation Fellowship Program Creates Mental Health Policy Advocates

July 21, 2010

AUSTIN, Texas – A new generation of Texas advocates for mental health will get intensive training, education and experience in policy and advocacy work through a new fellowship program created by the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health.

Five nonprofit advocacy groups – three in Austin and two in Houston – received foundation grants to hire an in-house fellow and provide the fellow with an experienced mentor. Fellows will work on specific projects to improve mental health policy in Texas.

“Texas needs more advocates who understand the state’s complex mental health system and who know how to improve it through public policy work. These five fellows have a rare opportunity to learn the art of public policy work from seasoned experts,” said Dr. Octavio N. Martinez, Jr., executive director of the foundation.

Recipients of the fellowship grants are:

Advocacy, Inc., Austin, $63,596
ChildBuilders, Houston, $66,234
Lutheran Social Services of the South, Inc., Austin, $67,944
Mental Health America of Greater Houston, $68,250
Texans Care for Children, Austin, $60,825

Contact the grantees directly for information on how to apply for a fellowship position.

The Hogg Foundation also plans to develop and conduct the new Hogg Mental Health Policy Academy. The academy will provide training and support for the fellows, their mentors and others involved in advocacy work in Texas.

The Hogg Foundation was founded in 1940 by the children of former Texas Governor James Hogg to promote improved mental health for the people of Texas. The foundation’s grants and programs support mental health consumer services, research, policy analysis and public education projects in Texas. The foundation is part of the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement at The University of Texas at Austin.