Ecumenical Center not notified of Uvalde County’s decision not to renew its contract

UVALDE, Texas – A major change is coming for the Uvalde community receiving mental health care following the tragedy at Robb Elementary.

The Ecumenical Center, a trauma-informed organization with specialized counselors, will not have its contract renewed past April 2024 to run the Uvalde Together Resiliency Center.

This comes at the recommendation of the Uvalde County District Attorney Christina Mitchell.

“After two years of watching them, it’s going to be my recommendation to the court that we bring in services all locally and have somebody locally running our resiliency center,” Michell said to county commissioners Monday.

Commissioners voted unanimously to accept Mitchell’s recommendation to move forward with local providers and not renew the contract with the Ecumenical Center, which is set to expire in April 2024.

Mitchell cited the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Grant ending at that same time. County Commissioner Ronnie Garza said they’ve now secured more VOCA funding through the end of 2026.

In June 2022, the Texas Tribune reported Uvalde was a mental health desert before the school shooting prompted Texas to bring in more assistance to the community.

“Most mental health care in the region falls to the state safety net, which in Uvalde is Hill Country Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Centers, the local mental health authority offering treatment to the mostly uninsured and underinsured,” the Texas Tribune reported.

At that time, “about 550 residents receive mental health and developmental disability services” through the Hill Country Mental Health and Development Disabilities Centers.

A spokesperson with the Ecumenical Center sent a statement about its work in the community in the 19 months after the shooting.

Since being selected and contracted to establish and oversee the Uvalde Together Resiliency Center in June 2022, the Ecumenical Center’s team of 25+ Texas-licensed trauma specialty professional counselors has conducted over 14,325 navigation and counseling sessions in English and Spanish, benefitting 5,260 individuals in the local community including children, adults, healthcare professionals, and first responders.

We are deeply honored and humbled to be a part of the healing journey of those affected by the tragic events that occurred at Robb Elementary in May 2022. We care deeply about the people of Uvalde and our commitment to them remains steadfast as we continue to serve and support them in the coming months.

The Ecumenical Center

With Mitchell’s recommendation and the commissioners’ vote, they are now choosing to rely on the same local resources present before the shooting took the lives of 19 children and two teachers.

“Our local clinicians and healthcare professionals have really stepped it up,” Mitchell said.

We called three times and sent two emails to Mitchell regarding her recommendation, noting this seems out of her job purview as the county’s head prosecutor.

As per usual when contacting her office, she has not responded.

Though Mitchell’s recommendation and the commissioners’ vote happened Monday, Ecumenical Center CEO Mary Beth Fisk said they still have not been officially notified. They have only heard of this decision through media calls.

“We haven’t received anything beyond that,” Fisk said.

The “25+ Texas-licensed trauma specialty professional counselors” serving the Uvalde community come with years of specialized training that not every trained mental health professional has.

“When we talk about 25 experienced trauma-specific specialists in the area, each of those have a collective of at least 25 years apiece. So you look at that level of experience, you look at that level of education, it’s hard to duplicate,” Fisk said.

Fisk said they intended on staying in Uvalde for years to assist in the healing journey, just as they have done in Wilson County for the community of Sutherland Springs following the mass shooting at First Baptist Church.

“What we know is that the recovery takes a long time. A minimum of four years, and four years is not going to be the end. This is a lifetime of recovery for these families,” she said.

Fisk said regardless of the commissioners’ decision and the DA’s recommendation, they’ll help bridge gaps in service, if necessary, so the community doesn’t suffer.

“We hold the entire community truly deep in our hearts and we really and truly mean that,” Fisk said. “When we say, you know, we’re humbled and we’re honored to serve, to have served and to be serving this beautiful community who experienced just a horrific loss.”