Our theme for this new season of Into the Fold is "Mental Health in Transition: Navigating Change and Building Resilience." All season long, we focus on how individuals, families, and communities are adapting to various societal changes and challenges that impact mental health. We are coming to you from Austin, Texas, site of the Texas Legislature an epicenter of the changes that are impacting people, as well as concerted efforts to address those changes. We thought it would be fitting to kick off this new season with a look into the bustling world of public policy – and how policy changes impact mental health. 

For this conversation we are joined by Mandi Zapata of Texas Civil Rights Project, Noah Jones of Texas Counseling Association, and Maia Volk of Disability Rights Texas. They are all Hogg Policy Fellows, employed by organizations that have received Policy Fellows grants from the Hogg. They came to our studio for a conversation on how their mental health experiences both shape, and are shaped by, their work in the policy arena.