BEAUMONT, Texas — The Episcopal Health Foundation (EHF) has awarded Spindletop Center $10,000 to provide bus passes for low income consumers who receive services on the Center’s Beaumont south campus.

The Center will use the funds to purchase monthly and daily passes that will be distributed to Center consumers who depend on the Beaumont Municipal Transit bus service for their transportation. The funds are essential for consumers who want to participate in their ongoing mental health or substance abuse treatment and to complete their other important medical and personal business appointments.

“Thanks to the generous funding from the EHF, Spindletop Center can now provide a very important service to our consumers,” said Spindletop Center Community Support Program Director Robin Meek. “All too often, the lack of transportation creates a barrier for our consumers who want to improve their health and maintain a positive quality of life. With these wonderful bus passes, our Center can eliminate this obstacle and help our consumers achieve long term recovery.”

Each year, Spindletop Center serves approximately 7,000 consumers with mental illness, substance abuse, intellectual developmental disabilities, or early childhood development delays. In 2016, the Center will use the EHF funds to distribute passes to approximately 750 consumers. The Center is developing plans to continue providing this essential service beyond this funding year.

With more than $1.2 billion in estimated assets, EHF (www.episcopalhealth.org) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation that operates as a supporting organization of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas. EHF works to improve the health and well-being of the 10 million people in the 57 counties of the Diocese by investing in communities through grant-making, outreach to Diocesan churches and critical research to advance community health.

For more information about Spindletop Center’s programs and services, call (409) 839-1000, or visit www.stmhmr.org.

The mission of the Spindletop Center is to promote independence, self-advocacy, and recovery for our consumers.

Spindletop Center serves people with mental illness, substance abuse, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and early childhood development delays. The center serves consumers in Chambers, Hardin, Jefferson, and Orange counties and has campuses in Beaumont, Orange, Port Arthur, and Silsbee. For further information on Center services, call (409) 839-1000. For 24-hour mental health crisis hotline services, call 800-937-8097.