• A mental health facility in El Paso, Texas, focusing primarily on children and teens, gets help with managing a fourfold increase in demand for its services.
• The El Paso Child Guidance Center received a $50,000 grant from Marathon Petroleum aimed at linking clients to support programs more quickly regardless of their ability to pay.
• The center’s number of clients has increased from 600 to 2,500 over the past five years, which the center attributes largely to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A mental health facility in El Paso, Texas, that focuses primarily on children and teens is getting help in responding to what its representatives call a “mental health crisis” in the region. Over the past five years, the El Paso Child Guidance Center (EPCGC) has gone from serving an average of 600 clients a year to assisting more than 2,500 a year. In response, Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC) has provided a $50,000 grant that will bolster the center’s capacity to provide clients faster access to mental health education, skills building, therapy and psychiatry programs and services – whether they can afford to pay or not.

“We primarily serve uninsured, underinsured and the most economically vulnerable in our community,” said EPCGC Development Director Valerie Sanchez. “COVID-19 exacerbated mental health needs in an already underserved community.”

The grant is aimed at strengthening development of EPCGC’s new model of care that involves linking young people with support programs within 24 hours. For clients who can’t easily reach the center’s offices, online telehealth services and in-home case management are available to help keep them engaged and on a productive path forward.

“The mission and work of the center… plays such a vital role in promoting resiliency in this community.”

“We champion the mission and work of the center because it plays such a vital role in promoting resiliency in this community,” said Ruben Iguaran, an Advanced Environment, Health and Safety Professional at MPC’s El Paso refinery and a former EPCGC board member.

MPC’s grant builds on the company’s steady assistance over the past several years. Most recently, MPC contributed to EPCGC’s 2021 capital campaign, which generated funds for renovating and expanding the center to create a more child-centric safe space for young clients.

“We are humbled and very grateful for this grant from Marathon. This level of financial support ensures children and families have expedient access to quality mental health care regardless of their ability to pay,” said EPCGC CEO Cathy Gaytan.