By Samantha Smith

May is Mental Health Awareness month and many across the nation are wearing green in support of spreading awareness about mental health issues. 

Kyle, like many cities have already done in Texas, has hired a mental health officer to assist police and citizens with various mental health concerns, such as finding resources for assistance.

Genevieve Natal, who has been the Kyle Police Department’s mental health officer for the last four years, said her time there as “bringing everything together.” That extends toward finding mental health resources and the people who need access to them. 

On May 13, KPD hosted its third annual Mental Health Awareness fair. Natal said it gave her and others in the field a place to start networking and getting people the information without the fear of being judged.

“Citizens know it’s a safe place to come and get information; no one is judged here,” Natal said. 

The fair provided citizens resources across multiple areas. It included representatives from Gary Job Corps,  a vocational training school in San Marcos. Representatives from the Youth Crisis Respite Center, a refuge for kids ages 13-17, were also in attendance. 

Representatives from the Military Veterans Peer Network also attended the fair. 

“Our main thing is helping veterans connect to each other and to the resources they need so they can navigate the V.A. healthcare system better,” Peer Services Coordinator Gene Hooper said. 

Another relief organization that attended the event was Texans Recovering Together, a crisis-counseling program that helps people recovering from the Memorial Day and Halloween floods.

There were representatives from hospitals like Austin Lakes Hospital, an in-patient and out-patient mental health treatment facility, and a full service doctors office called Comunicare which houses multiple services and doctors under one roof.

Texas Fit Chicks, a statewide fitness boot camp where women can join a fitness class that meets three times a week with varied workouts, was also present at the fair representing the importance of physical health as well as mental.

Sharply Ferrer and Christopher Lippke, licensed musical therapists,  talked about their theory that almost anything in a person’s life can be helped with music therapy.

“It’s therapy that doesn’t feel like clinical therapy because a person doesn’t even realize they’re getting therapy since they may be floating in a pool listening to music as part of their therapy,” Ferrer said.

The issue of mental health in America and the availability of services to assist those affected by mental health issues have been hotly contested in the media recently.

The consensus among officials is that there aren’t enough personnel specially trained to manage and interact with people regarding mental health issues.

Natal said if an officer needs assistance evaluating an emotionally disturbed individual, she is called in to determine if that individual needs treatment as opposed to jail time.

Mental health officers are becoming more common in precincts across the state. 

Buda recently applied for a state grant for a mental health officer. Natal said she was hopeful that Buda would receive the grant and has already been in contact with city staff in order to share her resources. 

Natal also said he was excited about the prospect of a second mental health officer in Kyle and one day hopes to have a mental health task force at KPD.

“I believe my position here, having a mental health officer at a police department, is very important because I am the key player and the face of the department for mental illness issues,” Natal said.