Community leaders, healthcare providers, and advocates gathered for the East Texas Behavioral Health Summit, working to remind families they are not alone.
Mental Health Awareness Month is bringing attention to a growing need across East Texas and in Tyler that conversation was filled with compassion, connection, and hope.
Community leaders, healthcare providers, and advocates gathered for the East Texas Behavioral Health Summit, working to remind families they are not alone.
Inside the W.T. Brookshire Conference Center, dozens of organizations lined the halls with one shared purpose, helping East Texans find support, understanding, and hope during life’s hardest moments.
The free summit brought together nearly 100 vendors, community discussions, food trucks, and resources designed to connect families with the care they may not even realize is available to them.
Dr. John Gregory Pogue, chair of the Robert M. Rogers Department of Psychiatry at the University of Texas at Tyler School of Medicine, says the region continues to face a significant shortage of providers.
“There has been a long-standing, very dire shortage of mental health providers in the region,” he daid.
While the need remains critical, Pogue says progress is being made through partnerships and outreach efforts that expand services into rural communities:
“If we can deliver mental health services in communities close to where they live and work, it’s going to make it more accessible to them.”
For organizations like NAMI Tyler, the mission goes beyond resources — it’s about reminding families that healing starts with support and understanding.
Kathy Riffe, board president of NAMI Tyler, says connection makes a difference.
“People get relief, they don’t feel alone, and we teach them not to give up hope.”
Advocates say many East Texans still face barriers when seeking help, including cost, transportation, and not knowing where to turn during a crisis. Events like the summit aim to bridge that gap and help families better support loved ones living with mental illness.
“When family members understand their loved one, they can communicate better.”
Leaders at Andrews Behavioral Health say lasting change will only happen when communities continue working together and talking openly about mental health.
“No one person or no one system can solve this problem. We need to work together.”
For many attending Tuesday’s summit, the message was simple but powerful — no one should have to face mental health challenges alone.
“I’m hopeful that they’ll have resources that they need when they find themselves or a friend in a mental health crisis.”
Organizers say the summit continues to grow every year, creating more opportunities for East Texans to find support, build connections, and know that help and hope are always within reach.