Get Support Together - Blog , Who We Are and Why We do what We DoGet Support Together - Blog , Who We Are and Why We do what We Dohttps://www.getsupporttogether.org/blogs/who-we-are-and-why-we-do-what-we-doThu, 11 Jun 2026 03:10:33 -0700http://zoho.com/sites/<![CDATA[YESTERDAY. TODAY. TOMORROW.  Launching a new path for mental health access in Texas.]]>https://www.getsupporttogether.org/blogs/post/launching-a-new-path-for-mental-health-access-in-texasGet Support Together launched in Texas with a Community Learning Exchange, uniting leaders across sectors to explore gaps in mental health care. Together, we’re building a connected ecosystem to improve access, support families, and strengthen communities.]]>

In Hays County, Texas, something different happened.


Today, Get Support Together officially launched — not with a presentation, but with a conversation.


We welcomed a judge, mayors, law enforcement, university staff, residential treatment and recovery center leaders, private therapists, crisis intervention teams, public health professionals, and community partners into one room. Together, we explored a powerful question:


What does the mental health journey really look like—before, during, and after crisis?

One Family’s Story. A System Failure Revealed.

At the center of this launch event was my family’s real-life journey navigating a over a decade of pediatric mental health crises in Ohio and in Texas.  The discussion was not just about the moment of crisis—but everything surrounding it.

  • The abandonment
  • The confusion
  • The empty searches for help
  • And the reality of what happens after the crisis ends


What became clear to everyone in the room was this: The system works in moments—but breaks in-between and after. There are incredible people doing life-changing work across our communities. But, those efforts often exist in silos, leaving families to navigate a fragmented and overwhelming landscape on their own.

Where We Go From Here

This is exactly why Get Support Together was built.


Not to replace providers — but to connect them.


Not to simplify care — but to simplify access to it.


During the discussion, several critical opportunities emerged:


Supporting Families After First Response

When law enforcement responds to a mental health event, the immediate crisis may be addressed - through resolve or detention - but families are often left behind without direction.


Imagine if families had:

  • Clear support options to address the issue they are facing
  • Easy access to community or national virtual support groups
  • Connections to local clinical, non-clinical, and holistic providers

Moving Beyond the "Safety Plan"


Discharge from residential treatment or stabilization units is a critical transition point.  But, too often, support ends with a document and a "promise" to not repeat behaviors.


A wraparound approach can be available to:

  • Find the right support professional and psychiatrist for their continuum of care
  • Connect with community-based supports
  • Access peer groups and lived-experience communities
  • Find activities that support long-term healing

The Resources are Out There


Countless organizations are building static or call-center recruited mental health professionals to assist their staff or the community.



But how do you choose?

  • Get Support Together is building a shareable repository of data, expanding the concept of collaboration rather than re-creation
  • The power is in the type of data, not a phone number or website
  • Often care seekers don't know what type of treatment or resource fits their needs

Building an Ecosystem — Together

Get Support Together is a nonprofit designed to bring all of these pathways into one connected ecosystem.  While our platform was introduced for Texas in May 2026, our intent is nationwide reach supporting communities all over the country.  We aim to connect resources for individuals in highly populated cities to super rural communities with limited to no mental health support.  Our platform includes:

  • Clinical providers
  • Non-clinical support
  • Holistic and alternative approaches
  • Free, sliding scale, insurance-based, and private-pay options
  • Community mental health events for care seekers to join locally or virtually
  • An evolving crisis resource directory for mental health and social determinants of health immediate needs.


If it supports mental health, it belongs in the ecosystem.

What Happens Next: A Call to the Mental Health Community

Over the past two years, we have built the platform.  The technology, search results, and ability to make referrals is agile, adaptable, and ready to take feedback from mental health providers to build a nationally scaleable resource directory. Now we need the community.


We are inviting mental health professionals across Texas—and beyond—to join us by creating a free listing. Our growth will be intentional - through network weaving, not mass aggregation.

That means:

  • We will NEVER populate our website with your data available through public resources.  All providers, facilities, and programs must create their own profile and benefit from the expansive searchable fields to attract the ideal care seekers.
  • We are asking providers to connect providers.  We are looking for word to spread and organic growth through the shared objective of improving mental health access for our friends, family, and neighbors.
  • We want our communities strengthened so a care seeker can find us directly or be supported by a school counselor, religious leader, networking friend, or city hall.
  • We aim to build a system with you, not around you.  Our agile software is built to be responsive so as mental health needs and solutions evolve, we will evolve too.

What happened today was more than a launch.


It was alignment.

It was awareness.

It was a shared recognition that we can—and must—do better together.

And, our family was honored to have Erin Barker, former Administrator for the Hays County Sheriff's Office Crisis Response Team surprise us with her presence.  Erin has since left her role and moved out of state.  But she was here, supporting our family on the back end, after trying to simply help our family survive and stay together for many years.  Tears were shed.

We are incredibly grateful to every leader, provider, and community mental health provider who showed up, shared openly, and helped shape what comes next.

This is just the beginning.

If mental health matters to you and you'd like to make a difference, please consider donating to our mission today.  Your contribution will help expand our technology, reach, and community impact.  We also invite you to share this website with anyone you know supporting families with basic needs or with mental health resources.  We need them here.

Staff Blogger

BREA BERMAN-BLACK

Founder, The Get Support Together Foundation + Mental Health Advocate

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]]>Tue, 05 May 2026 18:27:38 -0500<![CDATA[Improving Mental Health with STEM Community Investments]]>https://www.getsupporttogether.org/blogs/post/improving-mental-health-with-stem-community-investments

Get Support Together Partners with Code2College to Power Technology Development and Expand Access to Mental Health Resources


Get Support Together (GST), a nationwide mental health access platform, is proud to announce a new partnership with Code2College, a leading nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to STEM education and careers for high school students.  Through this collaboration, GST will engage Code2College students in the ongoing development of its platform—providing real-world coding experience while advancing a shared mission of increasing access, opportunity, and equity.


Code2College’s mission is to dramatically increase the number of minority and low-income students who enter and excel in STEM education and careers by providing free coding education, professional development, mentorship, and paid internship opportunities. Their model focuses on education, exposure, and experience, equipping students with both technical skills and real-world industry access.


“Partnering with Code2College aligns perfectly with our vision,” said Brea Black, Founder and Mental Health Advocate at Get Support Together. “We are building a platform centered on access—access to mental health resources and access to opportunity. By working with these talented students, we are not only strengthening our technology, but also investing in the next generation of innovators.”


Through the partnership, Code2College students will contribute to web and CRM development projects within the GST platform, gaining hands-on experience in a live production environment and introduction to the unique ZOHO integrated solutions. These opportunities reflect Code2College’s commitment to preparing students for careers in technology through meaningful, project-based work and professional mentorship.


Get Support Together was created to address the fragmented nature of mental health systems by offering a centralized, easy-to-navigate database of resources spanning clinical care, community-based services, and alternative healing approaches. By organizing support around real-life experiences and needs, GST empowers individuals, families, and professionals to find the right care—when it matters most.


“This collaboration represents what’s possible when mission-driven organizations come together,” Black added. “We are not just building a platform—we are building an ecosystem, and that includes uplifting future talent who will shape the systems of tomorrow.”


Together, Get Support Together and Code2College are demonstrating how cross-sector collaboration can drive both technological innovation and social impact—connecting communities not only to mental health resources, but also to pathways of opportunity.

About Get Support Together

Get Support Together is a nationwide mental health access database designed to help individuals and families navigate the full spectrum of support options. By bringing together diverse providers and services into one connected ecosystem, GST empowers users to find care that meets them where they are.

About Code2College

Code2College is a nonprofit organization providing free, industry-relevant coding education, mentorship, and professional development to high school students—particularly those from historically underserved communities. Its programs prepare students for paid technical internships and long-term success in STEM careers.

Media Contact:

Brea Black

Founder & Mental Health Advocate

Get Support Together

📍 Dripping Springs, Texas

📞 512.352.9882

Staff Blogger

BREA BERMAN-BLACK

Founder, The Get Support Together Foundation + Mental Health Advocate

LinkedIn

Facebook

Instagram

YouTube

Alignable

]]>Tue, 14 Apr 2026 09:04:44 -0500<![CDATA[Bridging the Gap Between Need and Knowledge for Quality Mental Health Care]]>https://www.getsupporttogether.org/blogs/post/bridging-the-gap-between-need-and-knowledge-for-quality-mental-health-care    Have you seen the path to mental health care as a twisting and looping bridge to nowhere?  It's not just access to quality mental h ]]>

    Have you seen the path to mental health care as a twisting and looping bridge to nowhere?  It's not just access to quality mental health care that's a challenge in our nation, it's the lack of empowerment an individual or family faces to find that supportive care and have knowledge as to what options are available to service the need.  Bridging that gap between need and knowledge to access quality mental health care is what Get Support Together is all about.

Mental Health is a Progress, Not Perfection.  So the Mission of Get Support Together is Intended to Evolve Too. 

    How many of you were raised on the ideology, "Practice Makes Perfect?" Another generation can boast about the evolution in thinking because they were taught, "Practice Makes Progress." The problem is, or at least it was for me, once there's a promise that perfection is attainable, it can take over rational thought with obsessive behaviors.  I am here today offering the promise that Get Support Together will remain rooted in progress, knowing the landscape of mental health services and the severity and onset of mental health conditions will be represented in our online community.

The Roots of Get Support Together

    There is a poorly kept secret within my diverse network that my life has been full of trauma, complicated by children with demanding needs and a life burdened with constant chaos that my personal drive to perfection contributed to.  (Note, I was raised in the generation of "Practice Makes Perfect.")  What less than a handful of people know, however, is despite a flourishing career in marketing where I could generate and execute exceptional marketing strategies, I was crippled by insecurities which often created self-fulling prophecies in my life of try, <insert inner voice you are going to fail>, work harder, push more, fail.


    The development of Get Support Together is no different from this.  The concept first came to me when at age two my daughter was showing signs of mental dysregulation and physical pains.  It took us five more years to close that chapter with the diagnosis of a neurological condition, but the hopelessness and loneliness of not being able to find support for her stayed with me as a small black spot on my heart.  I simply could not figure out why getting mental health treatment for a child was so difficult.  My tribulations didn't end there as many times throughout my child-raising years I sought support for me, my husband, my kids, but we didn't really know what type of support we needed and heaven-forbid in some of the more traumatic times, hospital social workers couldn't even provide answers!


    Currently there are suicide text lines and crisis hot lines and 24/7 psychiatric hospital emergency rooms, but for anyone using these services or even managing their way through a period of sadness or grief, there is nowhere to look, learn, and take action for your own mental health recovery.  We are aiming to narrow that gap between need and knowledge by building a community full of resources needed to get through today, take the next right step, and live a happy, balanced, productive life.

    The issue I see most prevalent in finding quality mental health care is people having access to the information required to service their need.  If you're suffering from generalized depression or anxiety, chances are the tools of a community therapist or group program could give you the support you need.  But what if that depression grows to chronic inability or desire to participate in life?  Consider a neighbor swears Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is the perfect solution for you and you want to hear what mental health clinicians have to say about the aggressive treatment or find a mental health service provider near you?  What if this advice is so misdirected and this treatment is so far off from what you need, but you don't know what to consider?  Get Support Together will be your solution.

How will Get Support Together Change the Face of Mental Health Care Access?

    I remember seeing my first therapist when I was 23, back in the late 1990s.  I called my insurance company and was mailed a list of approved therapists in my city.  This list of blank names was supposed to reassure me there were plenty of people to help, yet had the opposite effect of making me feel extremely alone.  As it happens, I randomly picked a female from the list and lasted only two sessions with her because whenever I expressed a feeling she audibled a deep "awe", causing me to feel like she pittied me.  I'd say this was not a good therapist-client match.

    

    Get Support Together will put you, the potential patient, in the drivers seat of selecting what's the most meaningful to you, or what you may want to learn more about to make an informed decision, to take that next right step.  With dozens of filters acknowledging diagnoses beyond the DSM-5, advancing treatment modalities, structure of treatment environments, communities served, provider training supported by continuing education courses, social insights, and more will be available in the first release of Get Support Together.  You can expect to see many more improvements as we fundraise to build the community each of you deserve for your mental health journey.

For Mental Health Providers

    We invite you to be a part of the change in mental health care access today.  Sign up for Get Support Together during our pre-launch phase, a limited number of free memberships are available with a small commitment to help us test the content and functionality of the directory.  Starting with licensed individual therapists, counselors, social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists, a top-tier membership will be free for six months after the directory is launched.


    Or, you can also contribute to the change by providing your information to be contacted closer to launch to consider our free basic listing or enhanced membership plans.  A huge benefit to Get Support Together will be if you opt to maintain a free listing, you will have complete control over the information displayed and what you want your profile to focus on.


 Accomplishing our mission to deliver you this robust offering will require significant "grass roots marketing" initiatives to spread the word and build connections for this unique solution in finding quality mental health care.  If you're not yet following our social channels, please do so and share posts so we can reach as many therapists, doctors, treatment centers, religious institutions, communities, and more in efforts to build the directory to over 5,000 participants before it goes live.  Check back often to see how we are progressing towards our goals and preparing knowledge resources for you.


It's an honor to be the messenger of this powerful new mental health resource.


Be safe and find happiness.

Brea Berman-Black

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