Through TOMORROW ONLY, Wednesday, May 31st, for your gift to be amplified!

For the month of May, the Ramesh and Kalpana Bhatia Family Foundation will be amplifying gifts made to organizations providing mental health services with a $15 match for gifts of $15 or more, and two $5,000 grants to the organizations receiving the highest number of donors.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Forbes Advisor magazine published their findings HERE titled "The Worst States for Mental Health Care, ranked." Number 1 Worst State on the List? Texas. The reasons for this ranking include (quoted):

• "With the highest percentage of adults with any mental illness who are uninsured (21.5%), Texas is the worst state for mental health care.
• Texas is home to the highest percentage of adults with a cognitive disability who could not see a doctor due to cost (40.65%), and the highest percentage of youth who had a major depressive episode in the past year and did not receive treatment (73.1%).
• Texas has the fourth highest percentage of children with private health insurance that does not cover mental or emotional problems (13.8%).
• Texas has the fifth lowest number of mental health treatment centers in the nation (only 41.92 per 10,000 businesses)."

Dr. Brian J. Dixon was one of the inaugural members of the EmpathyHQ Board of Directors. His Bio includes a long list of accolades and accomplishments spanning across his work as a Board-Certified Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist, Community Advocate, and Entrepreneur. Dr. Dixon can regularly be found raising awareness in the community about important mental health topics, such as the need for Mindful Media to combat the effects of social media on our overall mental health. We are so grateful for his ongoing support and advocacy!

(We promise, it's worth the read)

A mouse, looking through a hole in the wall, sees the farmer and his wife open a package. He was terrified to see that it was a mousetrap. He ran to the patio to warn everyone. - "There is a mousetrap at home!"

The chicken, cackling and digging, says, "Excuse me, Mr. Mouse, I understand that it is a big problem for you, but it does not hurt me at all."

So, the rodent went to the lamb, but he answered similarly: "Excuse me, Mr. Mouse, but I don't think I can do more than keep you in my thoughts and prayers."

The mouse went to the cow, and she said: "But am I in danger? I think not!" said the cow.

The mouse returned to the house, worried and dejected to face the farmer's mousetrap.

That night, a great noise was heard of the mousetrap catching its victim. The woman ran to see what she had caught. In the dark, she did not see that the mousetrap caught the tail of a poisonous snake. The speedy snake bit the woman.

The farmer immediately took her to the hospital, she came back with a high fever. To comfort her, the Farmer prepared a nutritious soup, grabbed the knife, and went to find the main ingredient: the chicken.  

Since the woman did not get better, friends and neighbors visited them, so the farmer killed the lamb to feed them. Sadly, the woman died; to cover the funeral expenses, the husband sold the cow.

All too often, mental health is treated like the mousetrap - perhaps we hear about a need, and we genuinely mean well, but we continue on our path, feeling unaffected... until we are. Nearly every day, our EmpathyHQ team is busy helping individuals, families, and communities work through unexpected difficulties. This can look like::

• Offering hope and prevention for a Texan at risk of suicide;
• Teaching coping mechanisms for a teenager suffering from anxiety and panic attacks;
• Providing guidance and skills for a parent suffering from clinical depression;
• Strengthening self-esteem and resilience for a trauma victim with PTSD;
• Improving communication for a family struggling to connect or handle a new diagnosis;
• ....and SO much more!

We need your help!

Save the Date!