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Elizabeth Ramirez at home in El Paso, Texas.

How the Texas vision for seamless mental health care fell apart over 60 years

A lack of private providers, a swamped community mental health system, and low insurance reimbursement have cut off many in Texas from basic mental health services.


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State-funded centers are strained

Sharon Forbes, a nurse for the Tarrant County MHMR, poses for a portrait at their Penn Square clinic in Fort Worth, Texas on Auguust 15, 20203.

More in need, fewer to provide help

A waiting room in the Tarrant County MHMR Youth Center in Fort Worth, Texas on August 15, 2023.
Ana Y., 35, looks through jewlery and drawings she's made at the Tarrant County MHMR's community center on August 15, 2023.
Ashlyn Mosley, 13,  "bedazzles" her stuffed animals with her mother, Jennifer Antwine, in Fort Worth, Texas on Oct. 20, 2023.
Ashlyn Mosley, 13, peeks through a window in her grandmothers home in Fort Worth, Texas on October 20, 2023.

Texas Legislature fix

The Pottsboro libary in Pottsboro, Texas on Aug. 18, 2023.

Rural mental health care challenges and one solution

Pottsboro city manager Kacie Galyon poses for a portrait in her office at the Pottsboro city hall on Aug. 18, 2023.
Director Dianne Connery poses for a portrait inside the Pottsboro library in Pottsboro, Texas on Aug. 18, 2023.
The Pottsboro library telehealth room in Pottsboro, Texas on Aug. 18, 2023. It is fully equipped with medical supplies, informational pamphlets and a computer allowing people to schedule video calls with doctors and counselors.
The door to the telehealth room can be seen from the Pottsboro library's kids area on Aug. 18, 2023. It is fully equipped with medical supplies, informational pamphlets and a computer allowing people to schedule video calls with doctors and counselors.

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Health care State government Mental health