RDF is painting the community red for mental health

LAGRANGE – The Red Door Fund for Mental Health is encouraging the community to paint their homes, businesses, classrooms or the fronts of their driveway red to show support for mental health this February.

The organization, now in its second-year campaign, is raising awareness and support for mental health in Fayette and Colorado counties. The RDF’s 2023 campaign is aimed at mental health awareness, education and increasing access to mental health services and providers, according to a release.

A spokesperson for the organization said the RDF started its work in January 2022 to raise awareness and educate the community on the disproportionate rates of mental illness in rural areas and the lack of support systems in place. In 2022, the organization said it raised $17,840, invested $10,850 back into the local community and facilitated several community- led events. So far in 2023, RDF reports to have raised $63,000 to be used for this purpose. The organization was also awarded a grant by Methodist Healthcare Ministries to help with designing and implementing a sustainable local solution to the severe mental health provider shortage.

According to a release, the Texas Behavioral Health Funders Collaborative awarded Schulenburg ISD and Weimar ISD a grant to implement HOPE Squad, a peer-to-peer suicide prevention program, on their junior high and high school campuses.

RDF is a fund of the Fayette Community Foundation. For more information about the RDF, visit the FCF website at faycofoundation. com.