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• Respite, Rehabilitation and Re-Entry Center: Equipped and Reunited

  

  We found Tamala* in uninhabitable living conditions. She had been homeless for many years and was separated from her husband in attempts to find suitable living. She had been trying to get in contact with her husband and buy a ticket to North Carolina where her husband had settled in with housing and a job.

   

• Harris County and the City of Houston Partner to Fund new COVID-19 Homeless Respite and Rehabilitation Center

  HOUSTON, October 1, 2020 – The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the vulnerability of individuals who are homeless and have mental illnesses. It is not only the unhealthy conditions on the streets that make the unsheltered homeless “at-risk” to COVID-19; most suffer from underlying, chronic health conditions. An estimated 15-25% of individuals experiencing homelessness throughout Harris County and the greater Houston area suffer from severe mental health issues making it difficult for city, county and local partners to quickly assist and house them out of harm’s way. Social distancing requirements have also reduced homeless shelter capacity. These extremely acute individuals have a large impact on first responders and hospitals by routinely requiring emergency intervention. These individuals increase the risk of COVID-19 exposure to first responders and the community

• Mayor Sylvester Turner highlights local efforts to prevent suicides among veterans, active military and family members

  

  The City of Houston and local agencies are working closer together to increase suicide awareness and prevention support for those who have bravely served our country, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner announced Thursday in conjunction with the start of National Suicide Prevention Month.
  
  The effort is part of the Mayor’s Challenge to Prevent Suicide Among Service Members, Veterans, and Their Families. Houston is one of the initial seven U.S. cities to participate in the challenge, founded last year by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

• The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD Names Dr. Luming Li New Chief Medical Officer

  

  HOUSTON, TX (June 23, 2021) – Following a competitive national search, The Harris Center is pleased to announce Luming Li, M.D., M.H.S. as the organization’s new Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Li will officially join the organization on Wednesday, September 1, 2021.

• The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD Receives $8.93m to Lead New Community Initiative for Mental Wellness and Resiliency

   As a response to the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021, The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD (The Harris Center) is collaborating with Harris County to lead a new community wellness and resiliency program to support communities in Harris County, Texas. Healthy Minds, Healthy Communities, a locally led mental wellness and resiliency initiative, will focus on ten Harris County zip codes (i.e.,77093, 77504, 77022, 77076, 77090, 77060, 77033, 77091, 77038, 77450) that underutilize traditional mental health care and have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 as well other public health issues, such as suicide. The program aims to leverage natural and existing social support systems to create a community-led network of emotional supports and assistance. 

• Holmusk signs agreements with UTHealth and The Harris Center

  August 17, 2021 - Holmusk, a leading global data science and health technology company building the world’s largest Real-World Evidence (RWE) platform for behavioral health, has signed data license agreements with The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) and The Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD (The Harris Center) in Harris County, Texas.