About Us

Our History
In February 2005, The Friends of MHMRA of Harris County was established to
enhance and expand the services and supports provided by and through the
Mental Health and Mental Retardation Authority of Harris County (MHMRA).
Created under Texas Law in 1964 by the Harris County Commissioners Court,
MHMRA recently celebrated its 42nd anniversary (November, 2007), as one of
the primary public entities charged with ensuring the provision of an array of
services and supports for tens of thousands of people with serious mental
disabilities each year. These include persons with severe and persistent
mental illness, children with serious emotional disturbances, and people of all
ages who evidence significant impairments in functioning due to cognitive and
developmental disabilities throughout Harris County. The priority focus of
MHMRA has been services and supports for those people with mental
disabilities who are medically uninsured (indigent), have limited insurance
benefits, and/or are difficult to treat due to the severity or complexity of their
condition.

The MHMRA Board of Trustees established a
non-profit corporation, with 501(c)(3) status,
called "Friends of MHMRA of Harris County," to
more adequately address the needs of these
residents of Harris County and their families.
The 78th Texas Legislature severely reduced its
general revenue (GR) for virtually all aspects of
Texas governmental operations; health and
human services were particularly hard hit. The
Harris County GR funding for MHMRA operations
was reduced by just over $17 million – over 20%
from FY ’03 to FY ’05. The 79th Session saw
some restoration in resources, but the gap
between needs in the community and resources
to address them remains enormous. Sadly,
waiting lists continue to not just exist, but to
grow, even for persons with a significant mental
disability -- people who really should not be
"waiting."

Our Goals
The Friends of MHMRA of Harris County is a long-term effort which will work to
build a corpus, the earnings from which will be available each year to expand
and enhance the services for people with mental disabilities throughout Harris
County. The Auction and Entertainment Nights have established the seed
operational funding for the organization.