• In 1999, the Wedgwood Baptist Church shooting happened as a result of a man suffering from an untreated mental illness. Fort Worth Mayor, Kenneth Barr, turned to local mental health providers, requesting a plan to improve access to quality mental health services for all Tarrant County residents. The initial providers were comprised of Tarrant County, My Health My Resources (MHMR) of Tarrant County, the City of Fort Worth, Fort Worth ISD, Cook Children’s Medical Center, Lena Pope, and the Child Study Center. These founders provided leadership and financial resources, created task forces and set parameters for collaborative planning, recruited organizational and individual members and developed a system that will allow all residents to receive mental health services. With this, Mental Health Connections (MHC) and the Family Resource Centers (FRC) were established. 

     

    With the work of community partners and MHC, Fort Worth ISD created a system of identifying students on the campus level that are needing additional mental health-related services and making sure all students/families receive access to quality care.