From its establishment, The Hackett Center for Mental Health had a goal of bringing communities together to promote improved mental health in and around Houston and the Gulf Coast. Throughout 2022, THC Executive Director Quianta Moore, JD, MD, built on that tradition, meeting with local community and organizational leaders to gain a deeper understanding and richer perspective on opportunities to make a further impact on regional priorities.

One area of focus throughout the year was on the importance of maternal mental health. The first weeks and months of life are crucial to an infant’s lifelong mental and physical health, and ensuring a mother is healthy and ready to build a strong foundation for their child is extremely important to their future. The Hackett Center laid the groundwork for upcoming events and roundtables to connect partners and create a learning community around issues of maternal mental health and ways to improve it. This work will include a webinar series to raise public awareness, promote best practices, and create a professional community of maternal mental health experts.

In keeping with the spirit of collaboration, in August, The Hackett Center and the Massachusetts Association for Mental Health sponsored the 5th Annual Children’s Mental Health Summit in Austin. This was the first time the Summit was hosted in Texas. This prestigious group of mental health experts came together for their annual tradition of sharing insights and expertise, participating in dynamic conversations to develop policy solutions to the most pressing issues in Massachusetts and Texas.

Along with the TAG Center, The Hackett Center also contributed expertise and resources to build capacity for resilience within the Uvalde community in the wake of the Robb Elementary tragedy. From researching the potential impact of Multisystemic Therapy teams to training school personnel in trauma and grief informed care, THC experts worked to mitigate the damage the tragedy inflicted on young people and their families throughout the region.

In late 2022, The Hackett Center received funding to develop the Wood Youth Mental Health Project, which, upon its launch in 2023, will ease the burden on families by paying for mental health care services for children and their caregivers, address workforce shortages, train mental health providers in trauma- and grief-focused treatments, and create a team of consultants who will help families successfully navigate complex mental health care systems. The Hackett Center believes this bold, innovative model holds the potential to be successfully replicated across the state and nation.

More information on The Hackett Center’s impact in 2022 can be found here.