Whole Person
Project

The Whole Person Project seeks to expand access to quality mental health services for adult Texans with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Why Are We Doing This Project?

The Arc of Texas is uniquely positioned to address the mental health care disparities that Texans with intellectual and developmental disabilities experience using our membership base and partner organizations. Those closest to the problem are also those closest to the solution.

During the 2022 year, the Whole Person Project collaborated with self-advocates to share their stories in a short video docu-series. With these videos, we hope to gain access to solutions and strategically advocate for systemic policy change as these stories will ultimately make their way to elected officials during the next legislative session. We interviewed five self-advocates from the San Antonio area, and this is their story…

There Is Always Hope

In support of the Whole Person Project, IDD Advocate James Meadours sat down with us to detail his journey as a long time Texan accessing state supportive services. James is a current The Arc of Texas board member and his story is compelling…

I Want to Be Independent

Wanting to live on her own, Brandy Rios struggles with her living situation because she’s on a seemingly never-ending waiting list to receive state services. Her thirst for independence and freedom is attainable, even if she has Cerebral Palsy…

We Learned That Texas Is Dead-Last in the Country

When Kelly McCarthy moved to Texas with her mother, they had no idea how challenging it would be to receive state-level services for Kelly’s disabilities. Kelly and her mom met with the Whole Person Project team to discuss their struggle…

A Single Twig Breaks, but the Bundle of Twigs Is Strong

When Judith Laufer of the San Antonio League of Self-Advocates met Pat Carnal and Suzie Breckons, she wanted to facilitate their desire to live their lives with “self determination”. Individually, there were limited resources – but when the resources were pooled together, the results have been remarkable!

Learn More About Our Research

The Arc of Texas worked with the Center for START Services (CSS) to conduct a provider systems analysis in Texas. The results from the study indicate a need for increased access to cross-training, information sharing, and collaboration throughout the health service delivery system .

Learn more about the background of our project and the results of our research by reading our issue briefs.

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The funding disclaimer includes the TCDD logo placed next to text that states: This project is supported by the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities (TCDD) through a grant from the U.S. Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C., 20201. Grant number available by request. Grantees receiving government sponsorship are encouraged to express their findings and conclusions. Opinions do not necessarily represent official TCDD or ACL policy.