To begin building the community-level relationships necessary for the success of the program, the HMHC team leveraged existing relationships with leadership in Precinct 2 and Harris County Public Health to conduct a series of listening sessions at community centers in 10 key neighborhoods:

Utilizing a Community Initiated Care Model, The HMHC team engaged in learning sessions within each of the neighborhoods that provided residents an opportunity to learn about the initiative and express their current concerns about their communities in terms of mental health, wellness, and safety needs. These meetings were termed “Community Learning Circles” (CLCs) and feedback from community members was recorded visually by a trained facilitator. In response to the needs identified through CLCs, the program began identifying and training facilitators to conduct COVID grief and loss support groups.

Target Goals Include:

• Evoke change in beliefs related to mental health and treatment
• Equip communities with mental health education, training, and health literacy skills

The Harris Center

HMHC was developed as a tailored adaptation of existing evidence-based interventions. This ensures that interventions planned for neighbors are not “one size fits all,” but rather acknowledge varying cultural norms, stigmas, and ways of receiving information.

To evaluate its impact, the program tracks participant and stakeholder satisfaction from community events, learning and clinical outcomes, program engagement, resources provided, and other metrics specific to each initiative. A team of faculty from the University of Houston is leading the program evaluation to assess impacts on individual-level mental health, health equity, and community resilience.