Starr County, Texas

When someone in Starr County is in crisis, there is nowhere here to take them.

We're changing that. Starr County Behavioral Health Center is a Texas nonprofit being built to become the county's first local, bilingual behavioral health crisis and stabilization center.

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This center does not exist yet. It is being built — carefully, and in the open. If you need help today, here is help right now.

The reality today

There is no safe place, in the county, to take someone in crisis.

No psychiatric hospital. No crisis stabilization unit. No diversion center. So a person in crisis is driven out of the county — away from their family, their community, and their language, at the worst moment of their life. Or they wait in an emergency room that isn't built for them. Or they end up in a jail cell, when what they needed was care.

Data being gathered
Out-of-county transports

Residents in crisis transported out of the county for care — often more than 50 miles away.

Data being gathered from the Sheriff's Office and hospital. Source and date cited on arrival.

Data being gathered
Deputy hours lost

Hours deputies spend driving people in crisis out of county instead of patrolling it.

Data being gathered from the Sheriff's Office. Source and date cited on arrival.

Federal designation · verified
18/25

Starr County's HRSA Mental Health HPSA score — a federally designated Mental Health Professional Shortage Area (higher means greater shortage).

Source: HRSA, HPSA ID 7482490230 “MHCA 6 — Border Region,” last updated 2025-09-22. data.hrsa.gov

See the full case, with sources

Why we are building this

The nearest help can be a whole day away.

When someone in Starr County is in a mental health crisis, a police officer becomes their driver. If a bed is open in Laredo or McAllen, that is an hour or more each way. If those beds are full — and they often are — the officer has to keep driving: to San Antonio, to Dallas, sometimes as far as Wichita Falls. That is most of a day gone, and hundreds of miles from home. For all of it, an officer is off the streets of Starr County instead of protecting the community — and a person in crisis is carried further and further from their family, their neighbors, and their language, at the worst moment of their life. A local crisis center ends that drive.

The plan

Built in three honest phases.

We are not promising a hospital overnight. We are building capacity step by step — and telling you exactly what each step delivers, and what it still needs.

Phase 1 · Year 1

Outpatient & crisis foundation

Outpatient and crisis foundation services, including school-based partnerships.

Phase 2 · Year 2

23-hour crisis observation

23-hour crisis observation capacity.

Phase 3 · Year 3

Residential crisis stabilization

18–26 bed residential crisis stabilization; the long-term goal is 24/7 capacity.

See the full plan and timeline

Who this is for

This is for our neighbors — met in the language they think in.

Families in crisis

A local place to turn — so a loved one in crisis can stay close to home, family, and community instead of being sent hours away.

First responders

A place to bring someone that isn't a jail cell or a distant ER — so deputies can get back to the community they serve.

Schools & providers

Local partners for prevention and care, so young people and patients can get help here, in Starr County.

Help build it

Two ways to help this become real.

The most powerful thing you can do right now is show that Starr County wants this. And if you represent an institution, help build the coalition that makes it possible.

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Prefer to give? You can support us financially — with a clear note that tax-deductibility is still pending IRS recognition.