Nearly 1.4 million people live in the Rio Grande Valley, and around 50 beds are available for those that need mental health services in order to stand trial.

“We need at least 200 plus beds,” Hidalgo County District Attorney Toribio “Terry” Palacios said.

Palacios says he sees the shortage in psychiatric care as “concerning,” especially when patients are making their way through the court system.

“You cannot find anybody guilty if they're not competent, so you gotta restore their competency,” Palacios said.

On Tuesday, DHR Health broke ground on their new behavioral hospital in Pharr to break that disparity. 

The hospital is being paid for with an $85 million grant from the state's mental health inpatient facility program.

When construction of the hospital is completed, the number of beds for people in need of mental health care would double.

The new facility will have 184 beds, and half of them will specifically be assigned to those in the justice system.

Palacios says many people needing these services are sent hundreds of miles north to facilities in San Antonio, or farther.

“Then we can loop in family support, we can loop in community support, whatever we need to provide them those resources,” Vanessa Vale Saenz, vice president for behavioral health services at DHR Health, said. 

Saenz said she’s seen first-hand the growing need for mental health services for those going through the legal system.

“Even with the individuals who are navigating the justice system — if you or I were from the Rio Grande Valley and wound up needing those services, currently we would have to go to receive those services somewhere up north,” Saenz said.

Saenz said the situation not only makes it difficult for attorneys prosecuting or defending cases, but it also makes it harder on families.

Palacios said he hopes the new hospital will provide more mental health care opportunities to prevent crime from happening.

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