Our History
In 2018 the Stephen F. Austin University School of Social Work was awarded a grant from the Hogg Foundation’s Wellness in Rural Communities Project (WRC). The Nacogdoches County Collaborative is one of five counties in Texas to be included in the initiative. Our collaborative began with key partners and citizens who aligned with the mission of improving mental health and wellness.
Our initial community and organizational partners included: Burke, Rural East Texas Health Network, Greater East Texas Community Action Program, Concerned Black Men of Nacogdoches, Nacogdoches Independent School District, Interdenominational Minister’s Alliance, Nacogdoches Ministerial Alliance, Brown Family Health Center, Resilient Nacogdoches, Community Arts Center of East Texas, Nacogdoches Area United Way, East Texas Community Health Services, Rev. Kyle Childress, Jim Lemon, James Montoya, and Jane Childress.
Our first phase of the project was focused on working with the community to develop a common agenda. Led by Dr. Stephen Cooper the collaborative began using the Appreciative Inquiry Process to engage residents in conversations about wellness. By the summer of 2022 the Common Agenda had been completed, the collaborative had taken on the name “Better Together,” and the Appreciative Inquiry Team gave rise to a Network Advisory Board.
We are now in phase two of the WRC initiative, working with the community to bring life to the Common Agenda. In 2024 our group became incorporated with the name Better Together Nacogdoches. We are preparing to separate from Stephen F. Austin School of Social Work and looking ahead to the future!
: Our History
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