As the Yellow House Foundation’s new location in Leander nears completion, the nonprofit will receive up to $300,000 in grant funding from Williamson County over the next three years.

The details

Williamson County Commissioners Court originally accepted the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant and Substance Use Program grant, which will go towards YHF, on Dec. 17.

According to county documents, funding for YHF will help:
  • Support 12-step recovery groups for graduates of its withdrawal management program
  • Assist individuals in maintaining sobriety
  • Expand substance-use treatment and aftercare services for adults and adolescents experiencing or recovering from substance-abuse disorder in the county
At a Jan. 28 county commissioners meeting, Precinct 2 Executive Assistant Kathy Pierce said treatments are often just the first step to recovery.

“If you don't have that continued peer support and aftercare and community ... the chance of relapse [is] greater,” Pierce said.


Why it matters

YHF provides a place for recovery groups to meet in Williamson County 365 days a year, YHF board member Hal Cromwell said. Groups are growing so steadily that current facilities can no longer fit people adequately, he said.

“We're averaging about 3,300 people a month, and we do that without any full time employees,” Cromwell said. “It truly is a community lifting up the community.”

Five to six days a week, meetings will have 60 people, with Saturday morning meetings sometimes having up to 100 people, he said. Cromwell said just some groups meeting at the house include:How it works


The COSSUP program, which is under the federal Bureau of Justice Assistance, allows the county to refund YHF up to $100,000 annually over a three-year term, per county documents. Bluebonnet Trails Community Services will oversee the grant while connecting individuals to substance abuse treatments and services.

Per the agreement, YHF must offer a minimum of 125 meetings per month and submit monthly reports to Bluebonnet Trails and Williamson County.

“Our partnership with Bluebonnet, and this grant, is going to help get folks ... the help that they need,” Precinct 3 Commissioner Valerie Covey said.

Looking forward


YHF is currently located in Cedar Park, and its new facility in Leander is projected to cost $2.7 million, according to previous Community Impact reporting. Pierce, who called the new building “beautiful,” said it will open soon.