https://www.texastribune.org/about/staff/stephen-simpson/The latest news by Stephen Simpson.enFri, 19 Apr 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/19/texas-mental-health-providers-diversity/More than 40% of the state’s population is Hispanic, but its mental health provider population is more than 80% white.By Stephen SimpsonFri, 19 Apr 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/19/texas-mental-health-providers-diversity/Hispanics make up the largest share of Texas' population, but the state has struggled to train and license Spanish-speaking mental health providers and diversify its mental health workforce in general.In Texas, a key barrier to timely mental health care is the lack of Spanish-speaking providers in a state whose Hispanic population has become the majority.Photo illustration by Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/12/texas-psychologists-board-exam-mental-health-workforce/Faced with a nagging mental health provider shortage, the state psychologists’ licensing board is looking into whether the state should devise its own exam to get professionals licensed more quickly.By Stephen SimpsonFri, 12 Apr 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/12/texas-psychologists-board-exam-mental-health-workforce/Chair John Bielamowicz speaks during a the Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists meeting during the discussion with the Association of State & Provincial Psychology Boards regarding the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology on Thursday, April 11, 2024 in Austin.Chair John Bielamowicz speaks during a the Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists meeting during the discussion with the Association of State & Provincial Psychology Boards regarding the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology on Thursday, April 11, 2024 in Austin.Maria Crane/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/11/texas-wildfires-cattle-recovery/In testimony to state lawmakers, Dale Jenkins and his Panhandle peers shared the “hidden cost” of the wildfires.By Stephen Simpson and Maria CraneThu, 11 Apr 2024 11:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/11/texas-wildfires-cattle-recovery/Dale Jenkins stands inside one of his cattle pens on April 3 in Canadian. As the Smokehouse Creek fire approached his property, Jenkins and his family rushed to save around 100 heads of cattle before taking on the blaze from a tractor equipped with a water hose.Dale Jenkins poses for a photo inside a cattle pen where he left his livestock prior to the Smokehouse Creek fires on Wednesday, April 3, 2024 in Canadian. “You'd be out there fighting this fire and you're all by yourself,” Jenkins said. “There's not a soul round. But you've got light from the fire line. And you're working at it and concentrating so hard and finally you get to the end you finally put up the last flames and then it's just totally dark and totally quiet is a really it's an interesting feeling.”Maria Crane/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/04/texas-wildfires-utilities-hearings/Thursday’s hearing marked the end of the Legislature’s three-day marathon of public hearings.By Stephen SimpsonThu, 04 Apr 2024 15:19:11 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/04/texas-wildfires-utilities-hearings/Rancher Craig Cowden testifies to the House committee investigating the Panhandle wildfires Thursday in Pampa.Craig Cowden gives testimony to the house committee investigating the Panhandle wildfires Thursday, April 4, 2024 in Pampa. Maria Crane/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/03/texas-wildfires-hearing-osmose/The Texas A&M Forest Service concluded that a fallen decayed utility pole caused the Smokehouse Creek fire.By Stephen SimpsonWed, 03 Apr 2024 17:05:07 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/03/texas-wildfires-hearing-osmose/State Rep. Ken King, R-Canadian, speaks during a legislative hearing in investigating the state's largest wildfire in history April 2 in Pampa.State Rep Ken King, R-Canadian, speaks during an investigative house committee hearing on the Texas Panhandle wildfires Tuesday, April 2, 2024 in Pampa. In late February, the largest wildfire in Texas history raged across the panhandle, burning just over a million acres.Maria Crane/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/02/texas-panhandle-wildfire-investigation/A special legislative committee is investigating what caused the Smokehouse Creek fire, the largest in state history.By Stephen SimpsonTue, 02 Apr 2024 18:20:14 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/02/texas-panhandle-wildfire-investigation/Texas A&M Forest Service Fire Chief Wes Moorehead, left, Director of Texas A&M Forest Service Al Davis, and Chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management Nim Kidd, sit before a House Committee investigating the Panhandle wildfires Tuesday in Pampa.From left, Texas A&M Forest Service Fire Chief Wes Moorehead, Director of Texas A&M Forest Service, Al Davis, and Chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management Nim Kidd, sit before a House Committee investigating the Panhandle wildfires Tuesday, April 2, 2024 in Pampa. On Tuesday, testimony focused on topics relating to the largest wildfire in Texas history.Maria Crane/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/03/28/texas-churches-mental-health/Many Texas faith groups have offered counseling services in the past. But more of them are expanding their programs, partnering with providers, to help meet the growing need here for mental health services.By Stephen SimpsonThu, 28 Mar 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/03/28/texas-churches-mental-health/People attend praise and worship service at Rehoboth Baptist Church in Austin on March 24, 2024. The church has expanded their services to include mental health counselors as a resource for the congregation.AUSTIN, TX - MARCH 24: Praise and worship service at Rehoboth Baptist Church in Austin, Texas on March 24, 2024. Photo by Montinique Monroe Texas TribuneMontinique Monroe for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/03/22/texas-libraries-mental-health/Information-rich public libraries are using their websites and facilities to address the ever-increasing demand for counseling, housing and substance abuse services.By Stephen SimpsonFri, 22 Mar 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/03/22/texas-libraries-mental-health/Librarian Judith Bergeron answers the phone in her office at the Smithville Public Library in Smithville, Texas, on March 11, 2024.Librarian Judy Bergeron answers the phone in her office at the Smithville Public Library in Smithville, Texas on Mar. 11, 2024. Bergeron and her team participated in the It's Time Texas Community Challenge where her and her team worked for eight weeks on this challenge by logging hours of healthy activities and would push each other to do self care and community events such as getting together to exercise and eat healthy meals. Smithville won for the statewide extra small community a seventh year in a row.Maria Crane for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/03/07/texas-opioids-fentanyl-narcan-pharmacies/Opioid overdoses are not slowing down in Texas. But locating Narcan, which can reverse the effects of an overdose quickly, has been tough for Texans since it was made available without a prescription last year.By Stephen SimpsonThu, 07 Mar 2024 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/03/07/texas-opioids-fentanyl-narcan-pharmacies/Inconsistent practices from pharmacy to pharmacy and slow resupply times can make Narcan, which can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, hard to find.Boxes of Narcan Nasal Spray at Janel Rodriguez's home on March 30, 2023, in Hays County. Rodriguez's son, Noah Adam Rodriguez, died from a fentanyl overdose in 2022 and has since started the Forever15 Project where she distributes boxes of Narcan to people who order online.Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/03/06/texas-sboe-board-education-election-votes/The results of Tuesday’s primary elections could foreshadow a further push to the right for the body that sets the state's educational standards.By Stephen SimpsonWed, 06 Mar 2024 18:21:33 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/03/06/texas-sboe-board-education-election-votes/State Board of Education member Patricia Hardy lost the Republican nomination for the seat to youth pastor Brandon Hall during Tuesday's primary elections.State Board of Education Member and State Rep. Patricia Hardy, R-Fort Worth, listens in on testimony during an SBOE meeting on Nov. 13, 2019 regarding the addition of an African-American course to high school as part of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) state standards.Eddie Gaspar for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/02/26/texas-travis-county-jail-mental-health/Next month, mentally ill individuals accused of committing minor crimes will be “diverted” to a new 25-bed facility instead of jail cells in Travis County.By Stephen SimpsonMon, 26 Feb 2024 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/02/26/texas-travis-county-jail-mental-health/Tamara Needles, Travis County District Court Judge, moderates a panel including Travis County Judge Andy Brown, Travis County Commissioner Ann Howard and Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez to discuss in detail a plan to build a mental health diversion center for those arrested who are in crisis – starting first with a pilot program to begin in March.Tamara Needles moderates a panel including Andy Brown, Ann Howard and Sally Hernandez about the launch of Travis County’s Mental Health Diversion Pilot and the plans for a permanent Mental Health Diversion Center.Maria Crane/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/12/22/texas-mental-health-system-challenges/A lack of private providers, a swamped community mental health system, and low insurance reimbursement have cut off many in Texas from basic mental health services.By Stephen SimpsonFri, 22 Dec 2023 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2023/12/22/texas-mental-health-system-challenges/Elizabeth Ramirez, mother to three children, sits at home in El Paso. After her eldest child experienced a mental health crisis, Ramirez navigated through the confusing and under-resourced Texas mental health system in search for professional help.Elizabeth Ramirez at home in El Paso, Texas.Emily Kinskey for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/12/12/cdc-suicide-rate-guns-texas-laws/A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report showed a new record for people using firearms in suicides. Texas gun safety and mental health advocates say the report highlights a need for gun laws the state does not have.By Alejandro Serrano and Stephen SimpsonTue, 12 Dec 2023 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2023/12/12/cdc-suicide-rate-guns-texas-laws/A billboard about firearm safety is displayed off Highway 130 outside Austin, TX.Pu Ying Huang/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/30/rice-university-founder-statue-remains/William “Willy” Rice, the founder of Rice University, will be buried at his family plot after students called for his removal due to his slave-owning past.By Stephen SimpsonThu, 30 Nov 2023 16:47:30 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/30/rice-university-founder-statue-remains/The William Marsh Rice statue at Rice University in Houston on March 11, 2020.The William Marsh Rice statue at Rice University in Houston on March 11, 2020.Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/27/firefighters-mental-health-texas/Department leaders say they recognize that post-traumatic stress and other mental health issues are among the biggest dangers of the job.By Stephen SimpsonMon, 27 Nov 2023 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/27/firefighters-mental-health-texas/Firefighters at Fire Station 48 in Houston on Nov. 22, 2023.Houston, Texas: Firefighters on November 22, 2023 at Fire Station 48 in Houston, Texas.Mark Felix for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/28/texas-execution-scott-panetti-sanity/Panetti murdered his in-laws in 1992. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2007 set new court precedent with his case, raising the bar on the constitutional restriction against executing the insane.By Stephen SimpsonThu, 28 Sep 2023 13:04:02 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/28/texas-execution-scott-panetti-sanity/Interior of the state's death chamber.Interior of Death Chamber in Texas.Jenevieve Robbins/Texas Department of Criminal Justicehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/27/texas-teens-drug-treatment/Phoenix House is the latest casualty in an escalating funding crisis for Texas treatment centers as the state struggles with startling increases in overdose deaths, particularly among young people.By Karen Brooks Harper and Stephen SimpsonWed, 27 Sep 2023 12:04:59 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/27/texas-teens-drug-treatment/The Phoenix House in Dallas.The Phoenix House in Dallas.Phoenix House websitehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/21/texas-prisons-lockdown-inmate-killed/The killing of inmate Billy Chemirmir in the Coffield Unit occurred during a statewide lockdown of prisons, promoted by a rise in inmate homicides. A day before the lockdown, another incident at the same prison resulted in the firings of seven correctional officers and the resignations of another six.By Stephen SimpsonThu, 21 Sep 2023 10:24:09 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/21/texas-prisons-lockdown-inmate-killed/Texas Department of Criminal Justice William G. McConnell Unit at Chase Field in Beeville in 2013Texas Department of Criminal Justice William G. McConnell Unit at Chase Field in Beeville in 2013.Jennifer Whitney for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/14/harris-county-lina-hidalgo-mental-health-leave/The county’s top elected official will be discharged from a mental health facility this weekend and plans to return to work on Oct. 2 after two weeks of outpatient therapy.By Stephen SimpsonThu, 14 Sep 2023 14:01:05 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/14/harris-county-lina-hidalgo-mental-health-leave/Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo greets attendees during a Get Out the Vote Rally hosted by the Asian American Democrats of Texas in Houston’s Asiatown on October 15, 2022.Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo greets attendees during a Get Out the Vote Rally hosted by the Asian American Democrats of Texas in Asiatown on Oct. 15, 2022.Briana Vargas for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/06/texas-prisons-contraband-visitors/The state has canceled all visits to Texas prison inmates until a comprehensive search of all 100 correctional facilities for contraband has been completed.By Stephen SimpsonWed, 06 Sep 2023 17:21:10 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/06/texas-prisons-contraband-visitors/The Texas Department of Criminal Justice William G. McConnell Unit at Chase Field in Beeville in 2013.Texas Department of Criminal Justice William G. McConnell Unit at Chase Field in Beeville in 2013.Jennifer Whitney for The Texas Tribune