Into the Fold: Issues in Mental Health

PeerFest is an educational and celebratory event for Texans who have faced mental health challenges and are on a journey to wellness. Dr. William DeFoore, author of, among other books, Anger Among Angels: Shedding Light on the Darkness of the Human Soul. His keynote address is titled, "Goodfinding: A Comprehensive Approach to Mental Health Incorporating Emotional Intelligence and Positive Psychology." Sir Billy Dorsey (yes, an actual knight) will be delivering his keynote address, “In the Right Seat: Finding Purpose at the Intersection of Passion, Proficiency, and Positioning.” “Texas has a vibrant community of people who are using their personal recovery journeys to advocate for broader change in mental health. PeerFest 2024 is a not-to-be-missed chance for people to tap into this community, to be challenged and inspired, and to infuse that energy into their lives going forward.

By some accounts, young people's relationship to technology is unfolding crisis. It is now commonplace for adults to lament the “screen time” of young people and worry about its effect on their social lives and mental health. In 2023, the American Psychological Association issued a health advisory focusing on adolescent social media use, and the U.S. Surgeon General has said that social media can have “a profound risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents. There is evidence that social media may contribute to issues like depression, anxiety, toxic social comparison, sleep problems, body image issues, and disordered eating.” But is that the whole story? And if there is real cause for for alarm, what should be done? Dr. Carrie James and Dr. Emily Weinstein are co-founders of the Center for Digital Thriving at Harvard University. In their book Behind Their Screens, Emily and Carrie draw on a survey of more than 3,500 teens with the objective of adding to our understanding of teens’ online lives. In this episode we explore how young people navigate our increasingly networked world and how we balance safety, empathy, and technology in response. Related Links: Improve Your Media Literacy During COVID Mental Health and Media: Stop Raising Awareness Already

Dr. Melvin P. Sikes was a member of renowned unit of African American fighter pilots who flew during World War II known as the Tuskegee Airmen. After the war, Dr. Sikes earned a doctorate in education administration from the University of Chicago. He went on to become dean of Wilberforce University in Ohio and Bishop College in Marshall, Texas, a clinical psychologist with the Veterans Administration Hospital in Houston, and as we knew him best at the Hogg Foundation – a University of Texas at Austin professor of education psychology and a one-time member of the Hogg Foundation’s National Advisory Council. For Black HIstory Month, we are taking a look back at this remarkable man and his impact. In this episode of Into the Fold, not only do we get contemporary analysis courtesy of Elizabeth Stauber, Hogg Foundation archivist and records manager, but we hear from Dr. Sikes himself, by way of a vintage 1972 interview in which he discusses the challenges of balancing intellectual rigor with a commitment to inclusivity, how higher education can answer the call of a rapidly changing society, and what support committed academics need in order to succeed while avoiding burnout. In a bonus segment, we also include a brief interview with Adrian Fowler, former Hogg Foundation program officer and a close friend and colleague of Dr. Sikes. Related links: From the Archives: Roy Wilkins on the Mental Bondage of RaceFrom the Archives: Dr. Kenneth Clark on Racism and Child Well-Being From the Archive: Efua Sutherland on Theatre, Literature and Self-rediscovery

For this first podcast of the new year we are taking a look back at the National Day of Racial Healing. The National Day of Racial Healing is a nationwide observance that also coincides with Martin Luther King Day. For the second year in a row, the Hogg Foundation joined the celebration by holding an event in Austin, this time in partnership with Austin Justice Coalition, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to improving quality of life for people who are Black, Brown, and poor in the Austin community. It was on Sunday, January 14, the day right before MLK Day, that our host, Ike Evans, joined about 80 other people braved the cold for a day of facilitated dialogue, fellowship, music, a dab of spoken word poetry, and food. We visit with the two facilitators from the day, Dr. Angela Ward and Dr. Mary Rice-Booth, who are both educators who write, speak, facilitate, and think deeply on matters of equity. Related links: Leading Within Systems of Inequity in Education: A Liberation Guide for Leaders of ColorBrave Spaces for All Creating Hope for Healing after TraumaEpisode 149: Juneteenth and Mental Emancipation Hogg Foundation Declaration of Racism as a Mental Health CrisisRacial Trauma and Resilience in African American Adults

it was back in 2017 that we had on Dr. Art Markman, co-host of the KUT show Two Guys on Your Head, to talk about political climate as a chronic stressor. And so, six years after the fact, we thought that it would make sense to close that circle by inviting on Dr. Markman's partner from Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Bob Duke. We recently had him come to the studio for a discussion of gratitude and an exploration of just what it means to stop and be thankful. Dr. Duke is the Marlene and Morton H. Meyerson Centennial professor of Music at the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas at Austin. To quote him on gratitude, "When you do think about the capriciousness of life experiences, to me that is a real incentive for even greater levels of gratitude, because once you sort of recognize that you're not the author of your own story entirely, and that there are a lot of things that happen in your life to the good, which you actually had very little to do with, and it doesn't mean that what you did, you had no part in this. It's just that there's a lot of luck involved." In addition, we're also taking a look back at the year in mental health, through a sampling of some of our most representative episodes from 2023. Related Links: Political Climate as a Chronic StressorWorld Mental Health DayDiversity, Awareness and Wellness in Action Music Therapy for KidsTeaching in a Time of Division The Loneliness Epidemic

For this episode, we offer a look back at Young Minds Matter 2023! We drop in on some of the attendees, as well as our featured guest, Brandie Meister, youth advocate, published author, and vice president of Real Queens Fix Each Other's Crown, an Austin-based organization devoted to improving the mental health of women and girls. it is also the debut of our first guest host, Nakia Sims, a member of the Hogg Foundation Contributors Circle! Related links: Real Queens Fix Each Other’s Crowns Young Minds Matter 2021 Resources: Healing, Justice, and Connection for Mental Wellbeing Young Minds Matter 2019 Resources: Communities Connecting for Well-being The Mental Health Cost of Being a Strong Black Woman Into the Fold Episode 142: Empowering Our Girls in 2023 Into the Fold Episode 135: Black Maternal Mental Health Into the Fold Episode 124: Changing the Landscape: People, Parks, and Power Into the Fold Episode 56: Police Violence and Black Women’s Health, Part 1 of 2 Into the Fold Episode 56: Police Violence and Black Women’s Health, Part 2 of 2 Mental Health Awareness Month 2023 Minority Mental Health Awareness Month 2023 Tough Cutie

The theme of our 2023 Young Minds Matter conference is Transforming Our Communities Collectively. With a focus on collaborating with children, youth, and families as decision-makers and leaders in community transformation, it promises to be an energizing opportunity to learn about and from young change-makers. On our most recent podcast we visited with two such young people, Erika Ngo and Alexander Lopez of the Gulfton community in Houston. They joined us to discuss the essential work of empowering youth to engage in civic discourse and their participation in the upcoming conference. Related linksL Young Minds Matter 2023: Transforming Our Communities CollectivelyYoung Minds Matter 2021: Healing, Justice, and Connection for Mental Well-beingInto the Fold Episode 125: A New Deal for YouthYoung Minds Matter: The Healing FutureYoung Minds Matter 2019: Communities Connecting for Well-beingInto the Fold Episode 88: Young Minds MatterYoung Minds Matter: Historical and Cultural TraumaInto the Fold Episode 92: Youth LeadershipPeer Support for Young Adults

This episode is dropping on World Mental Health Day, October 10. World Mental Health Day 2023 is an opportunity for people and communities to unite behind the theme ‘Mental health is a universal human right.” From its inception the Hogg Foundation has been working to raise awareness and drive transformative actions that promote and protect mental health as a universal human right. But what does it mean to see mental health as a basic human right? What specific obligations come with that? Joining us today to discuss this question is Anna Gray and Janet Paleo, both with Prosumers International, a grantee partner of the Hogg Foundation. At different times they have been on the board of the World Federation for Mental Health, a driving force behind World Mental Health Day. Related links: Into the Fold Episode 121: Peer Leadership and Why it Matters Into the Fold Episode 77: Consumer Voice: Its Role in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Into the Fold Episode 88 Young Minds Matter How Peer Support Improves Community Mental Health

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, issued a public advisory earlier this year titled, the Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation in the U.S. To quote: “Our epidemic of loneliness and isolation has been an underappreciated public health crisis that has harmed individual and societal health. Our relationships are a source of healing and well-being hiding in plain sight – one that can help us live healthier, more fulfilled, and more productive lives." How big a problem is loneliness, and what can be done to addess the problem? Here to provide some answers is Jacki Hecht, managing director of the Center for Health Equity Research at the School of Nursing at The University of Texas at Austin and head of the AMEN Program. Related links: Surgeon General Advisory on LonelinessAMEN ProgramRegister for Young Minds Matter 2023!Into the Fold, Episode 88: Young Minds Matter

Kids in 2023 are going back to school at a particularly fraught moment for schools, teachers and parents in Texas. What do kids need this school year in order to thrive? What kind of support do parents and teachers need? Joining us for this conversation are Maria Arrabo of the Amala Foundation, a grantee partner of the Hogg Foundation. And Sharon Vigil, executive director of Communities in Schools of Central Texas. From the episode: Amala FoundationCommunities in Schools of Central TexasCo-signer Spotlight: Trust for America's HealthDeclaration of Racism as a Mental Health Crisis Related links: Back to School in 2023: Overcoming Fear, Stress, and Anxiety School-Based Crisis Group Intervention Episode 148: Music Therapy for Kids

What does it mean to do public policy work in a state with as challenging a policy environment as Texas? And for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities, what particular challenges confront them in the mental health policy space? And for younger people, who are just learning, just finding their footing, just finding their identity, how is more challenging still? For this second podcast of Minority Mental Health Awareness Month we are talking to Lily Trieu, interim director of Asian Texans for Justice (ATJ), a statewide nonprofit serving the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community in Texas, connecting them to civic action to build personal and political power. Related links: How We Should Respond to Anti-Asian RacismInto the Fold Episode 101: Asian American Identity in the Time of COVID-19Into the Fold Episode 115: Fear of Going Outside: A Podcaster on Asian Identity, Mental Health and BelongingInto the Fold Episode 132: Asian Americans Attaining AwarenessBridges, Not BarriersSincerely, HurtMoore Fellowship Winner Katie McCormick: Contributors of Occupational Stress and Burnout Among Texas Harm Reduction WorkersMind of Texas Episode 1: Minority Mental Health: Women Knowledge Workers in Higher Education Show Themselves Out

June is an interesting month for mental health! It is both Pride Month as well as the month of Juneteenth. The theme of emancipation runs through the month —i.e. emancipation from trauma, emancipation from stigma, emancipation from loneliness and isolation. June also happens to be Men’s Health Month, and Men’s Mental Health Month. Carrying on the emancipation theme, we look at Black men’s mental health with the help of author, speaker and college basketball Hall of Famer Thabiti Boone. Related links: Episode 149: Juneteenth and Mental Emancipation https://hogg.utexas.edu/juneteenth-and-mental-emancipation Episode 83: Minority Men's Mental Health https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-minority-mens-mental-health Episode 52: Black Student Athlete Mental Health https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-wnba-athlete-mental-health-sports Blog post: Uncovering Transgender History in Texas https://hogg.utexas.edu/uncovering-transgender-history-in-texas SAMHSA Report on lesbian, gay and bisexual behavioral health: https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/reports/rpt41899/2022_LGB_Brief_Final_06_07_23.pdf Parents article on fathers' mental health: https://www.parents.com/parents-survey-finds-59-of-dads-wish-they-felt-more-seen-7509558

On today’s Into the Fold we’re talking about Juneteenth, the federal holiday on June 19th that commemorates the day in 1865 that the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect in Texas. Also known as Emancipation Day, it's also an opportunity to celebrate African American mental health and resilience. Helping us do this is mental health advocate Tracy Yvette Green, an awardee of the New Voices Showcase in 2022 and current member of the Hogg Foundation Contributors Circle. Pride Month Statement https://hogg.utexas.edu/statement-on-lgbtq-pride-month Mental Health Awareness Month Videos https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-twp1sk908vSOOgapujp7hRnqFLGRXos Op-ed: Listening to all Uvalde voices will promote true healing in the community https://news.utexas.edu/2023/05/24/listening-to-all-voices-in-uvalde-will-promote-true-healing/ Episode 120: Why History? https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-why-history Episode 65: The Past Does Matter: Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-the-past-does-matter

Today on Into the Fold we’re talking about music therapy as a uniquely powerful way to help kids with their mental health, including for those dealing with traumatic experiences such as parental incarceration. Our guests are Cynthia Smith, founder and director of Sparks for Success, amd Amber Sarpy, one of their music therapists. Related links: Episode 69: Mental Health and the Musician's Life https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-musician-mental-health Episode 88: Young Minds Matter https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-young-minds-matter Episode 136: Diverse Works: A New Art Experience https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-mental-health-art Music credits: Artist: Kevin MacLeod Track: AcidJazz Album of origin: Jazz Sampler Creative Commons Attribution: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Just last month, for Episode 146, we took a look at some recent successes in public policy by one of our grantee partners, Texas Harm Reduction Alliance. In that episode and in many others we’ve tried to get across that not only is the policy arena a crucial venue for transforming mental health for Texans, but we’ll only truly succeed if we can help build the policy capacity of others. A good recent example is one we’re going to be discussing today. Family Service Center of Galveston is a Hogg Foundation Communities of Care grantee partner. They are part of the The Future is Us collaborative, which works across sectors to address community conditions, practices, and policies that perpetuate racial inequities in the education system in the Galveston area. Their CEO, Dr. Jared Williams, and their public policy director, Keith Henry, join us to talk about their recent achievements in public policy. Related links: Mental Health Awareness Month 2023 https://hogg.utexas.edu/mental-health-awareness-month Into the Fold, Episode 146: Some Good News in Public Policy https://hogg.utexas.edu/some-good-news-in-public-policy Into the Fold, Episode 75: Substance Use: A Public Health Approach https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-substance-use-policy Into the Fold, Episode 28: Jail and Mental Health https://hogg.utexas.edu/episode-28-jail-and-mental-health Into the Fold, Episode 77: Consumer Voice: It’s Role in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-consumer-voice Into the Fold, Episode 141: Texas Legislative Preview 2023 https://hogg.utexas.edu/texas-legislature-preview-2023 Mental Health Policy Fellows and Policy Academy https://hogg.utexas.edu/what-we-do/policy-engagement/policy-fellows-academy $1.4 Million Awarded to Train Mental Health Policy Fellows in Texas https://hogg.utexas.edu/news-1-4-million-awarded-to-train-mental-health-policy-fellows-in-texas Policy Fellows Retrospective https://hogg.utexas.edu/policy-fellows-retrospective

On April 6, 2023 Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced a $10 million fentanyl awareness campaign. This will include the Texas Division of Emergency Management delivering a total of 20,000 doses of the overdose-reversing medication, naloxone, more commonly known as Narcan, to all 254 counties in Texas. The distribution of nalaxone is a key plank of the “harm reduction” movement, which advocates for less punitive, more treatment-centered approaches to substance use conditions. Harm reduction has been making a slow and steady climb toward mainstream acceptance, and there are signs here in Texas that it may have finally broken through. Our guest for today, J.J. Ramirez, is an organizer with Texas Harm Reduction Alliance, a statewide organization that aims to end the drug war and its harms through harm reduction outreach, training, advocacy, and organizing. Texas Harm Reduction Alliance is also a grantee of the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health, receiving a Policy Fellows grant in 2022. Related links: Episode #145: Social Work in a Time of Division https://hogg.utexas.edu/social-work-in-a-time-of-division Episode #144: Teaching in a Time of Division https://hogg.utexas.edu/teaching-in-a-time-of-division Episode #142: Empowering Our Girls in 2023 https://hogg.utexas.edu/episode-142-empowering-our-girls-in-2023 Episode #141: Texas Legislative Preview 2023 https://hogg.utexas.edu/texas-legislature-preview-2023

With March being Social Work Month, we thought it worth exploring an increasingly urgent issue within social work: the challenges of doing ethical social work practice in a politically divided time like ours. In Texas, this is especially true for social workers who serve LGBTQ+ clients. How do practicing social workers navigate this difficult terrain? Social workers Kurt Olster and Kimberly Goodwin join us to discuss. Episode 133: Gender-Affirming Care is Trauma-Informed Care https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-gender-affirming-care-trauma-informed-care Hogg History: The Ima Hogg Scholarships https://hogg.utexas.edu/history-of-the-ima-hogg-scholarships Don't Mess with Texas Social Workers https://hogg.utexas.edu/dont-mess-with-texas-social-workers Announcing 2022 Ima Hogg Scholarship Recipients https://hogg.utexas.edu/hogg-scholarship-recipients-2022 Mental Health and Social Policy: A Q&A with Benita Bamgbade https://hogg.utexas.edu/mental-health-and-social-policy-a-qa-with-benita-bamgbade

Public school teaching has never been easy, but the willingness of some lawmakers to crack down on what is taught is unprecedented in recent memory. In Texas, there are signs that lawmakers are ready to follow in the footsteps of Florida, where public school teachers and librarians are now subject to restrictions on books that teach about race, sexual orientation and gender identity. To help us understand what teachers are going through, we talk to Nelva Williamson, an AP African American Studies teacher for Houston Independent School District; and Jesus Sosa, who teaches social studies for Richardson Independent School District. Public school teaching has never been easy, but the willingness of some lawmakers to crack down on what is taught is unprecedented in recent memory. In Texas, there are signs that lawmakers are ready to follow in the footsteps of Florida, where public school teachers and librarians are now subject to restrictions on books that teach about race, sexual orientation and gender identity. To help us understand what teachers are going through, we talk to Nelva Williamson, an AP African American Studies teacher for Houston Independent School District; and Jesus Sosa, who teaches social studies for Richardson Independent School District. Related Links: Mental Health in Schools https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-mental-health-schools On the Defensive: How Policy Changes Affect Queer Mental Health https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-policy-changes-queer-mental-health Op Ed: Safe and supportive schools for every Texas student https://hogg.utexas.edu/op-ed-safe-and-supportive-schools-for-every-texas-student Op-ed: Uproar over critical race theory should not threaten mental health in schools https://hogg.utexas.edu/critical-race-theory-mental-health-in-schools

The Hogg Foundation, past and present, wants to know more about the people and communities it aims to impact through its work. But during the 1950's this desire for greater knowledge ran headlong into the social and political climate of the time. \ ]'? Beginning in 1954, the Hogg Foundation conducted the Texas Cooperative Youth Study, a large-scale survey of nearly 13,000 high schoolers. It surveyed their attitudes on a range of issues, including segregation and other hot-button social issues of the time. The study took place the same year as the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case that mandated the desegregation of public schools. Unexpectedly, the study met with a cold reception. White parents were alarmed by the study’s questions, and this response triggered a backlash that even drew in elements of the anti-communist panic emblematic of the time. To help us make sense of this moment in Hogg Foundation history, Aviv Rau is a graduate research assistant for the Hogg Foundation and a graduate student in the Information Studies program at the University of Texas at Austin. And Dr. Don Carleton is executive director of the Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin and the author of, “Red Scare.” Related links: Central Texas African American Healthy Minds winners: https://hogg.utexas.edu/healthy-minds-grants-2023 Hogg History: The First National Congress of Black Professionals in Higher Education https://hogg.utexas.edu/hogg-history-the-first-national-congress-of-black-professionals-in-higher-education Hogg and the Story of Texas https://hogg.utexas.edu/hogg-mental-health-texas Why History? https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-why-history From the Archives: Dr. Kenneth Clark on Racism and Child Well-Being https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-dr-kenneth-clark-on-racism-and-child-well-being From the Archives: Roy Wilkins on The Mental Bondage of Race https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-roy-wilkins

Girls Empowerment Network seeks to “ignite the power in girls by teaching them the skills to thrive and believe in their ability to be unstoppable.” Ana O’Quin is a newly hired policy fellow for Girls Empowerment Network. On this episode she is joined by her policy mentor, Sarah Miller-Fellows, to shed some light on what “unstoppability” for girls looks like in the year 2023, and how the cultivation of girls' confidence in their leadership skills is essential to mental health. Related links: Empowering Girls Through Policy https://hogg.utexas.edu/podcast-empowering-girls-through-policy A Vision for the Future: Policy Priorities, 2023-2024 https://hogg.utexas.edu/policy-priorities-2023-24 Building Capacity to Advocate for Mental Health Policy https://hogg.utexas.edu/blog-advocate-mental-health-policy Policy Fellows Retrospective https://hogg.utexas.edu/policy-fellows-retrospective