By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Val Verde County Commissioners Court has designated May 2026 as “Mental Health Awareness Month” in the county.
Before voting on the designation during their May regular term meeting on Wednesday, members of the court heard from a representative of West Texas Counseling and Guidance, a non-profit organization in Del Rio offering mental health counseling.
Alejandra Garcia spoke to the court during the “Citizen Comments” portion of the court’s May agenda. Garcia is a licensed professional counseling supervisor, a registered play therapist and a clinical lead for the Del Rio office of West Texas Counseling and Guidance.
Garcia told the court, “May is a very important month for us. It’s mental health awareness month, so I wanted to bring attention to that and information about the services we provide in the community.”
Garcia said West Texas Counseling and Guidance opened its Del Rio clinic in 2018. At that time, one full-time counselor saw 31 clients, 28 of whom needed financial assistance to cover the cost of therapy.
Garcia said, “At West Texas Counseling and Guidance, we believe that therapy should be accessed without a fear of how much it’s going to cost, and so we have grants to cover the cost of therapy on a sliding scale. We also have grants to cover the cost of therapy for veterans, active-duty members and their dependents, so those services are completely free. We have veterans’ case management services as well, with Mr. Celso Barrientos.
“Since 2018, we have grown quite a bit. In 2025, we had 514 clients with a total of 5,289 sessions. That says a lot about the need here in the community,” Garcia said.
She said West Texas Counseling and Guidance is located at 906 E. 11th St., Bldg. 2.
Garcia also told the court, “This is my most important point. In 2025, we provided 122 clients with a zero suicide crisis appointment. This means those individuals were identified as at risk of suicide and needed immediate intervention. These individuals will always be prioritized to us. In hopes of decreasing the stigma and increasing our community’s knowledge of suicide prevention, we’d like to offer free zero suicide presentations to schools or places or organizations, so please feel free to ask us questions, give us a call or visit our website.”
She also shared West Texas Counseling and Guidance’s phone number, which Val Verde County residents may call for more information: 830-256-8255. She urged anyone experiencing a crisis or anyone aware of someone they know experiencing a crisis to call the national crisis hotline at 988.
Following Garcia’s presentation, County Judge Lewis Owens moved on to the court’s agenda item to consider a proclamation designating May as “Mental Health Awareness Month” in Val Verde County.
Owens invited Rachel Cedillo, director of the Hill Country Mental Health Developmental Disabilities Clinic, to read the proclamation.
Cedillo read, “This measure recognizes May 2026 as Mental Health Awareness Month in Val Verde County, to enhance public awareness of mental health and to dispel the stigma surrounding it; and whereas, half of the population will experience some type of mental health challenge over the course of a lifetime; and whereas, mental health challenges are one of the most common health conditions in Texas, affecting one out of six adults and impacting both the person experiencing the condition and those persons who love and care for that person; and
“Whereas, 36.8 percent of adults in Texas reported symptoms of anxiety and/or depressive disorder compared to 32.3 percent of adults in the United States; and, whereas, 762 individuals in Val Verde County sought services from Hill Country MHDD Centers in Fiscal Year 2025; and whereas, people with mental illness make important contributions to our families and our communities and can recover if given the necessary services and supports in their communities; and
“Whereas, creating a community where everyone feels comfortable reaching out for the support they deserve is crucial to ending the stigma surrounding mental health and mental illness; and whereas, each business, school, government agency, health care provider, organization and citizen shares the burden of mental health challenges and has a responsibility to promote mental wellness and support prevention efforts; and
“Whereas, the Val Verde County Commissioners Court wishes to enhance public awareness of mental health and diminish the associated stigma; now, therefore, be it proclaimed that the Val Verde County Commissioners Court, acting in its capacity as the governing body of Val Verde County, hereby recognizes May 2026 as ‘Mental Health Awareness Month’ in Val Verde County and calls upon the community to increase awareness and understanding of mental illnesses, reduce the stigma and discrimination and promote appropriate and accessible services for all people with mental health conditions,” Cedillo finished.
After Cedillo finished reading the proclamation, Owens commented, “When I came in as county judge, I didn’t realize the issue that we had. . . We had a guy in Comstock, if it had been anybody but a Border Patrolman, the house he wanted to break into thinking it was his, he would’ve probably been shot. . . there were (other) cases where people had issues; they wouldn’t be on their medication, but for the eight years I was commissioner, I didn’t see that.”
Cedillo interjected, telling Owens the individual in Comstock he had spoken about “is doing great now.”
“People don’t realize that we have these types of problems here,” Owens said.
The county judge recounted other instances of dealing with citizens with mental health issues, and Cedillo mentioned that citizens may have seen recent news stories about Laurel Ridge Hospital possibly closing in San Antonio.
Cedillo said, “That’s 300 beds that have stopped for all of Texas. We were a big part of it. We experienced that yesterday when we had a situation. We were in our clinic, and we had a person, and we waited until we had a bed . . . and so we had either Austin or San Angelo. San Angelo was able to help us, and if they hadn’t it would have put a burden on our sheriff’s office because they might have had to transport all the way to Waco.”
Cedillo said all of the local agencies, including law enforcement, are working together to address the county’s mental health challenges, but noted that “we are helping each other, but doors are closing.”
Owens said a new mental health hospital will soon open in Uvalde, but added, “That’s going to be full in just a little while; let’s be realistic.”
Before inviting the mental health professionals up for a photo, Owens called for a motion on approving the proclamation. Commissioner Pct. 2 Juan Carlos Vazquez made a motion to approve, with Commissioner Pct. 4 Gustavo “Gus” Flores giving the second. The motion passed unanimously.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com.
