Our Legacy
Founded in November 2000, the conference was the first in Texas and one of the first in the country to center the healthcare experiences of African Americans. It was created to challenge systems and cultural barriers that limit access to care and silence lived experience. For too long, tools that support healing and well-being have been out of reach. This conference exists to amplify voices, strengthen families, and cultivate resilience so people can thrive.
The conference is hosted by Integral Care, the local Mental Health and Intellectual and Developmental Disability Authority for Travis County. Integral Care hosts the conference in collaboration with a Planning Committee of community leaders, advocates, and healthcare professionals to create a space rooted in cultural relevance and truth. That purpose remains: to dispel myths, confront inequity, and move communities from surviving to thriving.
Register for the 2026 Conference
Our History
Learning, connection, and healing in community.
We Connect
To amplify voices, share stories, and strengthen the health of our community. The conference brings together families, advocates, providers, and partners who care about culturally responsive support. Through workshops, conversations, and community spaces, we build relationships, reduce isolation, and connect to resources that help us heal and thrive.
We Learn
About mental health, substance use disorder, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and physical health, along with real solutions. We learn from trusted experts and people with lived experience, gain practical tools, and discover services that support wellness. Here, knowledge becomes action and support becomes a path to care.
We Explore
How where we live, work, learn, and age affects health outcomes and access to care. We examine the systems and barriers that fuel stigma and disparities, and we identify what we can change, individually and together. By naming challenges and building solutions, we move our community from surviving to thriving.
Mission
The Central Texas African American Family Support Conference brings together families, individuals, and communities of every generation who share the pursuit of mental health and well-being for everyone. This gathering is a place where stories are lifted as sources of truth and knowledge. We build bridges between lived experiences and professional expertise, ensuring that participants are not only recipients of support but also contributors to solutions. Through courageous dialogue, shared learning, and moments of fellowship, we transform silences into conversations of strength. By reducing stigma and promoting community-informed approaches to mental healthcare and social services, we affirm that dignity belongs to every person and that resilience is not only admired but actively cultivated.
Vision
We see a world in which our schools, workplaces, neighborhoods, and institutions actively support mental health, recovery from substance use disorders, and well-being. Barriers of silence and stigma give way to trust, openness, and connection. People encounter an integrated landscape of prevention, education, peer networks, crisis support, and responsive professional care. Lived expertise stands beside clinical knowledge to shape how systems serve, so that no one is left behind or left out. We envision a world where mental health support is a celebrated act of courage, resilience is nurtured in community, and belonging is the foundation from which people learn, work, parent, and thrive across every stage of life.