https://www.texastribune.org/about/staff/stephen-simpson/The latest news by Stephen Simpson.enThu, 16 May 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/05/16/texas-travis-county-drug-deaths-fentanyl-overdose/Since 2019, accidental drug deaths have been rising in Texas, with the number tripling in Travis County.By Stephen Simpson, Graphics by Carla AstudilloThu, 16 May 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/05/16/texas-travis-county-drug-deaths-fentanyl-overdose/An Austin-Travis County EMS vehicle parked outside of St. Davidís North Austin Medical Center on July 7, 2020.An Austin-Travis County EMS vehicle parked outside of St. Davidís North Austin Medical Center on July 7, 2020.Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/05/15/texas-psychiatric-hospitals-mental-health/The facility has 240 single-person rooms, a basketball gym and outdoor courtyards. It’s part of a $2.5 billion overhaul of the state’s mental health hospital system.By Stephen SimpsonWed, 15 May 2024 15:57:12 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/05/15/texas-psychiatric-hospitals-mental-health/Austin State Hospital patient rooms include a bed, desk and private bathroom, seen during a media tour on May 15, 2024 in Austin.Patient rooms include a bed, desk and private bathroom in the Austin State Hospital on Wednesday, May 15, 2024 in Austin. The hospital has 240 beds for adult inpatients.Maria Crane/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/30/ut-austin-protest-arrests/Authorities and protesters clashed during the latest pro-Palestinian demonstration at the university on Monday.By Stephen Simpson, Sneha Dey and William MelhadoTue, 30 Apr 2024 12:03:11 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/30/ut-austin-protest-arrests/Protesters chant “off our campus” to law enforcement at the University of Texas at Austin on Apr. 29, 2024.Protestors chant “Off our campus” to law enforcement at the University of Texas on Apr. 29, 2024.Leila Saidane for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/29/university-texas-pro-palestinian-protest-arrest/The arrests mark the second time in less than a week that police have broken up a pro-Palestinian demonstration. This time protesters tried to set up an encampment on campus.By Ikram Mohamed, Pooja Salhotra, Stephen Simpson, Julius Shieh and William MelhadoMon, 29 Apr 2024 14:42:38 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/29/university-texas-pro-palestinian-protest-arrest/Texas Department of Public Safety troopers surround a pro-Palestinian encampment on the University of Texas at Austin campus on Monday, April 29, 2024.Texas department of Public Safety troopers surround a pro-Palestinian encampment on the University of Texas at Austin campus on Monday, April 29, 2024.Julius Shieh for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/26/ut-austin-student-protest-arrests-texas/Dozens of people were arrested in Austin, while sit ins and demonstrations elsewhere happened mostly unobstructed. School officials say it’s because campus rules were broken.By Stephen SimpsonFri, 26 Apr 2024 17:13:06 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/26/ut-austin-student-protest-arrests-texas/https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/19/texas-mental-health-providers-diversity/More than 40% of the state’s population is Hispanic, but its mental health provider population is more than 80% white.By Stephen SimpsonFri, 19 Apr 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/19/texas-mental-health-providers-diversity/Hispanics make up the largest share of Texas' population, but the state has struggled to train and license Spanish-speaking mental health providers and diversify its mental health workforce in general.In Texas, a key barrier to timely mental health care is the lack of Spanish-speaking providers in a state whose Hispanic population has become the majority.Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/12/texas-psychologists-board-exam-mental-health-workforce/Faced with a nagging mental health provider shortage, the state psychologists’ licensing board is looking into whether the state should devise its own exam to get professionals licensed more quickly.By Stephen SimpsonFri, 12 Apr 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/12/texas-psychologists-board-exam-mental-health-workforce/Chair John Bielamowicz speaks during a the Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists meeting during the discussion with the Association of State & Provincial Psychology Boards regarding the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology on Thursday, April 11, 2024 in Austin.Chair John Bielamowicz speaks during a the Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists meeting during the discussion with the Association of State & Provincial Psychology Boards regarding the Examination for Professional Practice in Psychology on Thursday, April 11, 2024 in Austin.Maria Crane/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/11/texas-wildfires-cattle-recovery/In testimony to state lawmakers, Dale Jenkins and his Panhandle peers shared the “hidden cost” of the wildfires.By Stephen Simpson and Maria CraneThu, 11 Apr 2024 11:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/11/texas-wildfires-cattle-recovery/Dale Jenkins stands inside one of his cattle pens on April 3 in Canadian. As the Smokehouse Creek fire approached his property, Jenkins and his family rushed to save around 100 heads of cattle before taking on the blaze from a tractor equipped with a water hose.Dale Jenkins poses for a photo inside a cattle pen where he left his livestock prior to the Smokehouse Creek fires on Wednesday, April 3, 2024 in Canadian. “You'd be out there fighting this fire and you're all by yourself,” Jenkins said. “There's not a soul round. But you've got light from the fire line. And you're working at it and concentrating so hard and finally you get to the end you finally put up the last flames and then it's just totally dark and totally quiet is a really it's an interesting feeling.”Maria Crane/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/04/texas-wildfires-utilities-hearings/Thursday’s hearing marked the end of the Legislature’s three-day marathon of public hearings.By Stephen SimpsonThu, 04 Apr 2024 15:19:11 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/04/texas-wildfires-utilities-hearings/Rancher Craig Cowden testifies to the House committee investigating the Panhandle wildfires Thursday in Pampa.Craig Cowden gives testimony to the house committee investigating the Panhandle wildfires Thursday, April 4, 2024 in Pampa. Maria Crane/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/03/texas-wildfires-hearing-osmose/The Texas A&M Forest Service concluded that a fallen decayed utility pole caused the Smokehouse Creek fire.By Stephen SimpsonWed, 03 Apr 2024 17:05:07 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/03/texas-wildfires-hearing-osmose/State Rep. Ken King, R-Canadian, speaks during a legislative hearing in investigating the state's largest wildfire in history April 2 in Pampa.State Rep Ken King, R-Canadian, speaks during an investigative house committee hearing on the Texas Panhandle wildfires Tuesday, April 2, 2024 in Pampa. In late February, the largest wildfire in Texas history raged across the panhandle, burning just over a million acres.Maria Crane/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/02/texas-panhandle-wildfire-investigation/A special legislative committee is investigating what caused the Smokehouse Creek fire, the largest in state history.By Stephen SimpsonTue, 02 Apr 2024 18:20:14 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/02/texas-panhandle-wildfire-investigation/Texas A&M Forest Service Fire Chief Wes Moorehead, left, Director of Texas A&M Forest Service Al Davis, and Chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management Nim Kidd, sit before a House Committee investigating the Panhandle wildfires Tuesday in Pampa.From left, Texas A&M Forest Service Fire Chief Wes Moorehead, Director of Texas A&M Forest Service, Al Davis, and Chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management Nim Kidd, sit before a House Committee investigating the Panhandle wildfires Tuesday, April 2, 2024 in Pampa. On Tuesday, testimony focused on topics relating to the largest wildfire in Texas history.Maria Crane/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/03/28/texas-churches-mental-health/Many Texas faith groups have offered counseling services in the past. But more of them are expanding their programs, partnering with providers, to help meet the growing need here for mental health services.By Stephen SimpsonThu, 28 Mar 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/03/28/texas-churches-mental-health/People attend praise and worship service at Rehoboth Baptist Church in Austin on March 24, 2024. The church has expanded their services to include mental health counselors as a resource for the congregation.AUSTIN, TX - MARCH 24: Praise and worship service at Rehoboth Baptist Church in Austin, Texas on March 24, 2024. Photo by Montinique Monroe Texas TribuneMontinique Monroe for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/03/27/texas-health-care-workforce-needs/At Texas State Technical College in Waco, medical experts discussed how Texas schools are addressing workforce shortages and what else is needed to address our state’s needs.By Stephen SimpsonWed, 27 Mar 2024 14:45:10 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/03/27/texas-health-care-workforce-needs/https://www.texastribune.org/2024/03/22/texas-libraries-mental-health/Information-rich public libraries are using their websites and facilities to address the ever-increasing demand for counseling, housing and substance abuse services.By Stephen SimpsonFri, 22 Mar 2024 05:00:00 -0500https://www.texastribune.org/2024/03/22/texas-libraries-mental-health/Librarian Judith Bergeron answers the phone in her office at the Smithville Public Library in Smithville, Texas, on March 11, 2024.Librarian Judy Bergeron answers the phone in her office at the Smithville Public Library in Smithville, Texas on Mar. 11, 2024. Bergeron and her team participated in the It's Time Texas Community Challenge where her and her team worked for eight weeks on this challenge by logging hours of healthy activities and would push each other to do self care and community events such as getting together to exercise and eat healthy meals. Smithville won for the statewide extra small community a seventh year in a row.Maria Crane for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/03/07/texas-opioids-fentanyl-narcan-pharmacies/Opioid overdoses are not slowing down in Texas. But locating Narcan, which can reverse the effects of an overdose quickly, has been tough for Texans since it was made available without a prescription last year.By Stephen SimpsonThu, 07 Mar 2024 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/03/07/texas-opioids-fentanyl-narcan-pharmacies/Inconsistent practices from pharmacy to pharmacy and slow resupply times can make Narcan, which can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, hard to find.Boxes of Narcan Nasal Spray at Janel Rodriguez's home on March 30, 2023, in Hays County. Rodriguez's son, Noah Adam Rodriguez, died from a fentanyl overdose in 2022 and has since started the Forever15 Project where she distributes boxes of Narcan to people who order online.Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/03/06/texas-sboe-board-education-election-votes/The results of Tuesday’s primary elections could foreshadow a further push to the right for the body that sets the state's educational standards.By Stephen SimpsonWed, 06 Mar 2024 18:21:33 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/03/06/texas-sboe-board-education-election-votes/State Board of Education member Patricia Hardy lost the Republican nomination for the seat to youth pastor Brandon Hall during Tuesday's primary elections.State Board of Education Member and State Rep. Patricia Hardy, R-Fort Worth, listens in on testimony during an SBOE meeting on Nov. 13, 2019 regarding the addition of an African-American course to high school as part of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) state standards.Eddie Gaspar for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2024/02/26/texas-travis-county-jail-mental-health/Next month, mentally ill individuals accused of committing minor crimes will be “diverted” to a new 25-bed facility instead of jail cells in Travis County.By Stephen SimpsonMon, 26 Feb 2024 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2024/02/26/texas-travis-county-jail-mental-health/Tamara Needles, Travis County District Court Judge, moderates a panel including Travis County Judge Andy Brown, Travis County Commissioner Ann Howard and Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez to discuss in detail a plan to build a mental health diversion center for those arrested who are in crisis – starting first with a pilot program to begin in March.Tamara Needles moderates a panel including Andy Brown, Ann Howard and Sally Hernandez about the launch of Travis County’s Mental Health Diversion Pilot and the plans for a permanent Mental Health Diversion Center.Maria Crane/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/12/22/texas-mental-health-system-challenges/A lack of private providers, a swamped community mental health system, and low insurance reimbursement have cut off many in Texas from basic mental health services.By Stephen SimpsonFri, 22 Dec 2023 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2023/12/22/texas-mental-health-system-challenges/Elizabeth Ramirez, mother to three children, sits at home in El Paso. After her eldest child experienced a mental health crisis, Ramirez navigated through the confusing and under-resourced Texas mental health system in search for professional help.Elizabeth Ramirez at home in El Paso, Texas.Emily Kinskey for The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/12/12/cdc-suicide-rate-guns-texas-laws/A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report showed a new record for people using firearms in suicides. Texas gun safety and mental health advocates say the report highlights a need for gun laws the state does not have.By Alejandro Serrano and Stephen SimpsonTue, 12 Dec 2023 05:00:00 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2023/12/12/cdc-suicide-rate-guns-texas-laws/A billboard about firearm safety is displayed off Highway 130 outside Austin, TX.Pu Ying Huang/The Texas Tribunehttps://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/30/rice-university-founder-statue-remains/William “Willy” Rice, the founder of Rice University, will be buried at his family plot after students called for his removal due to his slave-owning past.By Stephen SimpsonThu, 30 Nov 2023 16:47:30 -0600https://www.texastribune.org/2023/11/30/rice-university-founder-statue-remains/The William Marsh Rice statue at Rice University in Houston on March 11, 2020.The William Marsh Rice statue at Rice University in Houston on March 11, 2020.Annie Mulligan for The Texas Tribune