{"id":224835,"date":"2026-01-03T07:37:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T07:37:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/224835\/"},"modified":"2026-01-03T07:37:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T07:37:08","slug":"lack-of-san-antonio-mental-health-resources-highlights-challenges-for-families-seeking-care-for-their-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/224835\/","title":{"rendered":"Lack of San Antonio mental health resources highlights challenges for families seeking care for their children"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN ANTONIO \u2013 Experts are glad to see more people reaching out for mental health<\/a> following the death of 19-year-old Camila Mendoza Olmos<\/a>, but it\u2019s highlighting an issue in access to services.<\/p>\n

Viewers told KSAT that it is hard to get mental health services<\/a> for their children.<\/p>\n

Melanie and Brad Denson\u2019s daughter started showing signs of mental illness at a young age that came to a head when she was a teenager, but they weren\u2019t able to find the right help until she was older.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur daughter stopped sleeping. She\u2019s showing aggression,\u201d Melanie Denson said, \u201cand she went from making great grades to failing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their daughter is now 29 years old and thriving while managing her conditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t just throwing more pills at the situation, or in and out. It was, \u2018Let\u2019s just start from the beginning,\u2019\u201d Melanie Denson said, \u201cand that was what put her on a different trajectory because they were treating the whole person and they were working collaboratively with her primary care physician as well as her family members.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Densons gained so much knowledge along their mental health journey that they now teach classes at the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Greater San Antonio.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, Texas is one of those states that they just don\u2019t have enough counselors, psychiatrists, any of those to handle the volume that we have in the state, much less San Antonio,\u201d Brad Denson said. <\/p>\n

City leadership said they are aware of the issue and it\u2019s urgency.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something that keeps us up at night for sure,\u201d said Jessie Higgins, Chief Mental Health Officer for the City of San Antonio.<\/p>\n

Higgins agreed the root of the problem is a lack of mental health professionals and dwindling funding.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking at every opportunity,\u201d Higgins said. \u201cWe are constantly in meetings with the county, working together. Federal funds are different this year than they have been. But it\u2019s really the state, so it\u2019s hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

While those issues take some time to solve, KSAT wanted to know how families can get help now.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it\u2019s hard to get into a counselor, a psychiatrist,\u201d Higgins said, \u201creferrals are one of the ways to get in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Referrals can come from many places, but one common source is pediatricians or hospitals.<\/p>\n

\u201cHave the primary care doctor\u2019s office call and actually make the appointment,\u201d Brad Denson said. \u201cI worked in the medical field for 22 years, and I will tell you that if a doctor-to-doctor call is made, that person will get in a lot quicker.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the meantime, Higgins said pediatricians can sometimes prescribe medications until they are seen by a psychiatrist.<\/p>\n

Higgins also said school counselors can also provide referrals.<\/p>\n

\u201cSchools have these contracts with providers, with nonprofits, with psychiatrists, with different things,\u201d Higgins said. \u201cThe state even has a program called TCHATT<\/a>, which is psychiatry and counseling that\u2019s offered through the school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Local nonprofits can help lead families to services, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Center for Healthcare Services<\/a> is a great resource for people in our community without insurance,” Higgins said, \u201cand the San Antonio Community Resource Directory<\/a> has a mental health portal.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Densons said it was NAMI that saved their family.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese classes are available, they\u2019re free to the community,\u201d Brad Denson said. \u201cThey\u2019re available in English, they are available in Spanish. They\u2019re even working on ones for the deaf or hard of hearing.\u201d<\/p>\n

They also suggest families attend the support groups through NAMI, where families can help each other and learn from one another as they navigate the process.<\/p>\n

Higgins said prevention is key, though.<\/p>\n

Getting services is easier when parents start early, Higgins said, and don\u2019t wait until their kids are in crisis. <\/p>\n

When loved ones see signs of mental illness, Higgins said they should immediately reach out to a local organization or seek a referral.<\/p>\n

If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, there is help. Call 988 or text TALK to 741-741. If there is an immediate danger, call 911.<\/p>\n

You can also reach out to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention<\/a> (AFSP) or the National Alliance of Mental Illness<\/a> (NAMI) at 210-223-7233 (SAFE) or 800-316-9241. You can also text NAMI to 741-741.<\/p>\n

If you are not in crisis but need someone to talk to, or want to ask for services for yourself or a loved one, call NAMI\u2019s Warm Line<\/a> at (210) 939-9999.<\/p>\n

Read also:<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by KSAT – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN ANTONIO \u2013 Experts are glad to see more people reaching out for mental health following the death…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":224836,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[60328,115757,3518,103,61,60,410,411,70780,14394],"class_list":{"0":"post-224835","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-bexar-county","9":"tag-camila-mendoza-olmos","10":"tag-counseling","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-ie","13":"tag-ireland","14":"tag-mental-health","15":"tag-mentalhealth","16":"tag-nami","17":"tag-suicide"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224835"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224835\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/224836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=224835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=224835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}