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Over the last three years, BUILD awardees have been building community power and changing systems to create healthier neighborhoods. This story features the Bridges to Care collaborative in San Antonio, Texas.
Bridges to Care San Antonio (BTCSA) is a community-rooted mental health initiative. Working across the city’s historically underserved East and Westside communities, the collaboration trains faith leaders, congregants, and teens to recognize mental health needs early, reduce stigma, and connect neighbors to care. Through culturally responsive programming with Black and Hispanic congregations and a peer-to-peer ecosystem of Wellness Champions, BTCSA is building a community of mental health support across San Antonio.
Over the past three years, the collaborative has:
- Launched San Antonio’s first Spanish-language mental health Wellness Champions program;
- Built a network of more than 1,500 Wellness Champions who offer mental health support in 19 congregations;
- Trained 215 Teen Mental Health Champions and activated programming in school districts under formal MOUs;
- And developed a citywide “bridging map” to track mental health connections across San Antonio and drive ongoing improvements.
Read about the BUILD San Antonio initiative, and learn more.
“If your culture is not communicating that it’s safe to be honest here… people will still not engage with those who are trained. We specialize in building culture.”
