YWCA Greater Austin Secures $100K Mental Health Services Grant

AUSTIN, TEXAS — The YWCA Greater Austin has been awarded a $100,000 grant from the Moody Foundation to further develop its mobile mental health services offerings to marginalized members of the population, officials said on Tuesday.

The financial contribution will enable YWCA to build out its mobile mental health services in order to increase access to high quality free and affordable therapy in geographically isolated areas of Central Texas, officials explained. In 2018, YWCA Greater Austin received $45,550 from the St. David’s Foundation to lay the groundwork for the same initiative.

“We are beyond happy and honored that the Moody Foundation has decided to partner with us to address this gap that exists in the delivery of mental health services," YWCA Greater Austin Executive Director Ángela-Jo Touza-Medina said in a prepared statement. " With Austin’s affordability crisis and the continuing effects of gentrification, families are being pushed to the periphery of Travis County and into more rural areas of Central Texas where access to services is a challenge,”

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Touza-Medina expounded on the YWCA's mission on providing access to mental health services in the Austin area the group serves: “We are committed to improving the availability, accessibility, affordability, and acceptability of quality behavioral health services for Central Texas’ rural residents. We hope that our presence in these communities will further much needed conversations and initiatives to help overcome the -often heightened- stigma of mental health issues that causes those in need to avoid seeking care.”

YWCA provides free mental health and counseling services to victims of crime and veteran women and sliding fee scale services starting at $10 for the community at large out of their South Central Austin office, and Round Rock and North Travis County Locations. YWCA therapists utilize a trauma informed and cultural relational theory based approach to ensure the provision of culturally and linguistically appropriate mental health services to children, adults, individuals, couples, and groups.

YWCA Greater Austin, located at 2015 Interstate 35, has provided mental health services to thousands of Central Texas residents as part of its varied mission. For more information or to schedule a counseling appointment, call: (512) 326.1222.

About the Moody Foundation

For more than 75 years, the Moody Foundation has funded programs and projects that strive to better the community of Texas and have invested in charitable projects that exhibit innovative ideas and make long-term improvements in the community. Currently, the Moody Foundation has awarded over 4,000 grants to nonprofits, including YWCA Greater Austin.

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