Bluebonnet Trails Community Services provides community and mental health resources for Central Texas residents

Richardson said the organization works with local law enforcement, schools and hospitals to identify community needs and ways in which Bluebonnet Trails can assist.

“We’re driven a bit differently than other systems of care,” she said. “We were built as a safety net system for Central Texas.”

Bluebonnet is funded through various resources, including government funds and donations. Richardson said most of the funding comes from the state. After demonstrating that the organization meets certain standards, she said it has to achieve set metrics to maintain funding.

“We’ve built our system on accountability,” she said. “We have to achieve these metrics for the lives of the people we’re serving.”

Tiffany Gonzalez, director of the Williamson County and Burnet County locations, said she has seen a “paradigm shift” in mental health care over the past few years.

As a community-oriented and public program, Bluebonnet Trails also has volunteer and internship programs. Richardson said volunteers frequently have a background in mental health issues or substance abuse, and they want to help others. Gonzalez said one of the most valuable resources is the peer network Bluebonnet Trails offers.

“It’s incredibly important as you’re going through recovery to have someone come alongside you and say, ‘I’ve lived through that,’” Gonzalez said.

With more than 300 partners throughout eight counties in Central Texas, Richardson said she hopes the organization will continue its approach to connecting families to the resources they need.

“When a family walks through the door, we aren’t going to diagnose them immediately,” she said. “We’re going to ask what’s going on. We want to work with the entire family to find ways to bring them together in the strongest way possible.”

Bluebonnet Trails Community Services

711 N. College St., Georgetown 512-869-2650, 512-863-8968 www.bbtrails.org