Mental health advocacy organization
The Hogg Foundation for Mental Health is a grantmaking organization with the mission to improve the mental health of Texans. As a unit of the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement at The University of Texas at Austin, the Foundation seeks to bolster conditions that support mental health and eliminate conditions that harm mental health, especially for communities that have been historically underserved or marginalized.[1]
History
1940-1970
The Hogg Foundation of Mental Hygiene was founded in 1940 by the Hogg family. Ima Hogg, in conjunction with her brother Mike, used the $2.5 million endowment from the estate of their late brother, William C. Hogg, to fund the organization.[2]
Foundation leadership held an inaugural conference on February 11-13, 1941 to bring representatives of mental health, philanthropy, and education from Texas and across the nation together to discuss practical applications for new mental health practices in everyday community life.[3]
The Foundation sponsored a series of lecture tours, colloquially known as “circuit riders for mental health,” in which Hogg Foundation staff and individuals sponsored by the Hogg Foundation traveled across Texas speaking on the importance of preventative and therapeutic approaches to mental health issues from 1941 to 1944.[4]
Beginning in 1949, the Foundation worked with the Texas Medical Association to fund a reform campaign entitled “The Shame of Texas,” which sought to emphasize the deplorable conditions of Texas mental hospitals via a series of newspaper articles.[4]
In 1957, the Foundation was renamed to the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health.[5] Also in 1957, the Foundation worked with the UT Law School to draft Texas’s first Mental Health Code.[6]
In August 1966, the UT Tower shooting took place which prompted a series of mental health reforms across Texas.[7]
1971-Present
Throughout the early 1970s, the foundation focused on funding mental health services for historically underrepresented groups across Texas.[8]
In 1971, foundation leaders worked with University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) faculty and community leaders of Crystal City in South Texas to discuss the development of the Zavala County Mental Health Outreach Program, which was intended to establish mental health services for the Hispanic population in the area. The program struggled to meet the specific linguistic, financial, and personal needs of the community.[8]
In 1972, the foundation hosted the first National Congress of Black Professionals in Higher Education, a three-day conference that focused on the need for more Black administrators in policy-influencing positions at academic institutions, increased support for Black students, and the development of curriculum and policies that would meet the needs of Black individuals.[9]
From 1990 to 1995, the foundation carried out “School of the Future,” a $2 million initiative to provide increased health services in Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio schools. The program focused on early intervention for low-income students and their families and was largely considered a success.[10]
Leadership
The following individuals have served as Executive Directors of the Hogg Foundation:
