CONGRESSWOMAN SHEILA JACKSON-LEE ANNOUNCES $520,000 GRANT AWARDED TO CHANGE HAPPENS! BY HHS TO PROVIDE MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE SERVICES

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee announced today that $520,000 has been awarded to Change Happens!, a Houston-nonprofit by the CSAT of the Dept of HHS.

“This significant grant will enable Change Happens!  to continue its exceptional record of helping  to rebuild broken lives of those who have been victims of substance abuse. Change Happens! provides a great amount of effective programs and services that assist youth. Change Happens! also provides  intervention programs for positive youth development, adult substance abuse prevention, HIV/AIDS programs, homelessness prevention, and much more.”

“Change Happens! is a local nonprofit community based program that currently offers individual counseling, supportive services for the homeless to individuals and families in more than 20 shelters, and programs geared toward preventing youth from engaging in risky behavior such as teen pregnancy. Finally, they also offer after school programs as well as jumpstarts to keep our youth safe as well as continuously learning even out of the classroom setting. All of these programs will be and are currently beneficial and much needed in building up the Houston area.

“Studies have indicated that one out every five Houstonians (665,000) suffer from some form of mental illness and of these, 181,690 have suffered from serious mental illness. Today, Texas ranks 49th in state per capita mental health funding. The consequences of mental health are great if not treated properly and can hinder ones cognitive ability to complete, let alone perform simple tasks. Twenty percent of children and adolescents ages 9 through 17 struggle in the Houston area with mental disorders. One of the most severe consequences of untreated mental health disease is a decrease in a person’s life expectancy by 25 years.

 “Change Happens! continues to educate 100,000 individuals in Houston  local neighborhoods.  Today, Change Happens! is housed in its brand new three-story, 27,000 square foot building in Houston’s Third Ward.  The building holds much meaning and value after once being occupied by crack house. What an amazing transformation which communicates to Third Ward communities that with hard work and dedication, change can and will happen.

“Since 1989, Change Happens! has come a long way from one program to now 18 programs and growing and has employed over 50 serving  and devoted individuals.  What once used to only serve Third Ward is now also encompassing 13 other counties in the Gulf Coast region. Change Happens! has been proudly known to offer programs that change their client’s lives and gives them hope to hold on to for a lifetime.

“I congratulations Change Happens! on being selected for this grant and thank HHS for recognizing the contribution of this great community organization . This grant will have a positive impact in our community and I am a proud to have supported the legislation that made funding this grant possible.”

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