NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas — One in five Texans will experience a mental health concern this year.
A non-profit in New Braunfels wants to make sure there are resources ready for anyone in need.
The River City Advocacy and Counseling Center (RCA) plans to move into a bigger building next year – to expand their work in Comal County.
It will take support for the organization to fulfill its mission.
Creativity runs free in a colorful room inside the current RCA building on Landa Street.
“So many stickers, paper cutters and then stuff for making collages, which is a really great form of expression,” said RCA Director of Development Tiffany Quiring, showing off a well-stocked art supply closet.
The materials support the art therapy room. Space is provided for clients to stop by and let loose. Encouraging words are sprinkled throughout the space. At the center of it all, healing is underway.
“It gives you something tangible to do with your hands,” said Quiring. “It slows you down. Sometimes it causes you to take deeper breaths and focus on what you're doing. Sometimes it can be just an expression of different emotions.”
Other rooms throughout the building are used for peer support groups and individual, couple or family counseling sessions.
RCA charges on a sliding scale, offering affordable services to the uninsured or under-insured.
“It's a vital need in our community,” said RCA Executive Director Adam Robinson. “The level of the lack of mental health services is really a public health crisis. We don't have the number of providers we need to meet the need. Among those who just have a diagnosed mental illness, fewer than half of them in any given year, actually get the services that they need. The problem is not just getting the word out about mental health and support for mental health struggles, it's also being able to provide services to those folks who already want them.”
RCA is hoping to move into a new building next year.
The organization is in the process of funding a 4,000 square foot space on W San Antonio Street in New Braunfels.
Thanks to land provided by Christus Santa Rosa and generous donations from the McKenna and Kronkosky Foundations, the project is 75% funded.
Construction will begin once funding reaches 80 percent.
“Every dollar that you donate to RCA is actually giving hope and healing to people that walk through our doors,” said Quiring. “If you donate one dollar to RCA, you are giving somebody the opportunity to sit down and work through some of their past trauma, work through some of the anxiety that they're feeling. You're empowering that person to go to work and be a good parent, you're empowering that person to continue their education. Every dollar that's donated here goes really far.”
To learn more about services offered at RCA click here: River City Advocacy
To help fund the new building click here: RCA New Building