Addressing Mental Health In Schools

$1 million grant from iconic Cosmo editor and husband creates innovative mental health programs at schools

After-school programs at 28 Houston-area schools are getting a mental health component, thanks to $1 million in grants from the iconic editor of Cosmopolitan magazine and her husband.

Amid a rousing performance by the Kashmere High School "Thunder Soul" marching band, more than 150 Houstonians representing education, mental health and nonprofit organizations recently gathered at the TMC Innovation Institute in the Texas Medical Center to learn about the innovative program called BridgeUp at Menninger.

The renowned Menninger Clinic will oversee the program, which will address the social, emotional and mental well-being of vulnerable middle school students whose lives have been challenged by economic, health and family hardships. Seven organizations will receive grants to implement the program — Connect to Character After-School and Summer Program, Kashmere Community BridgeUp Model, Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Houston, Breakthrough Houston, Pasadena ISD, Project GRAD Houston, Workshop Houston.

Harris County Judge Ed Emmett and Bill Kelly, director of governmental affairs for the City of Houston, were on hand, along with Dr. C. Edward Coffey, Menninger’s president and CEO, to announce the program, which will impact 1,400 students in Kashmere Gardens, Near Northside, Pasadena, Sharpstown, Spring Branch and Third Ward.

“It’s good that we’re focusing on mental health. Now we recognize mental health for what it is…it’s just another part of health," Emmett said. "An organization like BridgeUp plays a critical role because there are so many people that want to help others deal with mental health. This program and these announcements are huge stride."

“Through the support of BridgeUp and Menninger and the focus on early intervention, everyone should celebrate the ability for people to access badly needed mental health services. Investments in early intervention are the smartest dollars that we can spend on treatment," Kelly said.

Funding for BridgeUp at Menninger is made possible through a $7.5 million nationwide grant awarded to Menninger by the David and Helen Gurley Brown Trust. Helen Gurley Brown, who died in 2012 at the age of 90, was the iconic editor of Cosmopolitan magazine for 32 years.Her husband, David Brown, a Menninger trustee for 18 years before he died in 2010, was a film and theater roducer best known for Jaws, Driving Miss Daisy, and The Verdict.

Patricia Gail Bray, C. Edward Coffey, Ed Emmett, Bill Kelly.

Photo by John R. Lewis

Patricia Gail Bray, C. Edward Coffey, Ed Emmett, Bill Kelly.

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Jobs report

Texas clocks in as No. 7 best state to find a job, new report says

Photo by The Jopwell Collection on Unsplash

It's easier to find a job in Texas than in nearly any other state.

If you’re hunting for a job in Texas amid a tough employment market, you stand a better chance of landing it here than you might in other states.

A new ranking by personal finance website WalletHub of the best states for jobs puts Texas at No. 7. The Lone Star State lands at No. 2 in the economic environment category and No. 18 in the job market category.

Massachusetts tops the list, and West Virginia appears at the bottom.

To determine the most attractive states for employment, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 34 key indicators of economic health and job market strength. Ranking factors included employment growth, median annual income, and average commute time.

“Living in one of the best states for jobs can provide stable conditions for the long term, helping you ride out the fluctuations that the economy will experience in the future,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo says.

In September, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Texas led the U.S. in job creation with the addition of 195,600 jobs over the past 12 months.

While Abbott proclaimed Texas is “America’s jobs leader,” the state’s level of job creation has recently slowed. In June, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas noted that the state’s year-to-date job growth rate had dipped to 1.8 percent, and that even slower job growth was expected in the second half of this year.

The August unemployment rate in Texas stood at 4.1 percent, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. Throughout 2025, the monthly rate in Texas has been either four percent or 4.1 percent.

By comparison, the U.S. unemployment rate in August was 4.3 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2025, the monthly rate for the U.S. has ranged from 4 percent to 4.3 percent.

Here’s a rundown of the August unemployment rates in Texas’ four biggest metro areas:

Austin — 3.9 percent
Dallas-Fort Worth — 4.4 percent
San Antonio — 4.4 percent
Houston — 5 percent

Unemployment rates have remained steady this year despite layoffs and hiring freezes driven by economic uncertainty. However, the number of U.S. workers who’ve been without a job for at least 27 weeks has risen by 385,000 this year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in August. That month, long-term unemployed workers accounted for about one-fourth of all unemployed workers.

An August survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed a record-low 44.9 percent of Americans were confident about finding a job if they lost their current one.

This story originally was published on our sister site, InnovationMap.

job market texas wallethub jobs

Addressing Mental Health In Schools

$1 million grant from iconic Cosmo editor and husband creates innovative mental health programs at schools

Patricia Gail Bray, C. Edward Coffey, Ed Emmett, Bill Kelly.

Jobs report

Texas clocks in as No. 7 best state to find a job, new report says

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