Sisters Susan Miller and Jessica Miller Essl, co‑founders of the real‑estate investment firm M2GVentures, announced a new partnership aimed at strengthening mental‑health support for families in Tarrant County. Their social‑impact project, Soar, will work with the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute to launch the Tarrant County Trauma and Grief Collaborative (TAG Center).
Addressing a pressing need
A recent needs assessment by the Meadows Institute found that roughly 78,000 youths ages 10‑19 in Tarrant County lose a loved one each year, while more than 58,000 experience multiple traumatic events. Despite these numbers, few school‑ and community‑based settings currently offer evidence‑based trauma or grief treatment.
Training clinicians and expanding networks
Over the three‑year project, the TAG Center plans to train at least 180 school‑ and community‑based clinicians through annual learning collaboratives focused on Trauma and Grief Component Therapy and Multidimensional Grief Therapy—the nation’s only evidence‑based treatment designed specifically for childhood grief. Those clinicians are expected to serve about 1,440 young people, creating a broader, sustainable network of care within the environments where children already spend their time.
Supporting families and educators
The collaborative will also host workshops for parents, caregivers, and educators, helping them recognize signs of traumatic stress and grief, understand when a child may need additional support, and make timely referrals for treatment.
Data‑driven improvement
As services are delivered, standardized outcome data will be sent back to the TAG Center. This feedback loop will allow researchers to evaluate effectiveness, refine interventions, and continuously strengthen the model, linking research, training, and treatment.
Founders’ motivation
Essl explained that Soar began after a personal family heartbreak, driven by the belief that no family should face a mental‑health crisis without proper support. The partnership with the Meadows Institute and the TAG Center reflects Soar’s evolution into a long‑term investor in the community’s mental‑health wellbeing through research, advocacy, and community building.
Roots in recent disaster response
The search for a new partner was spurred by the 2025 Central Texas floods, which highlighted the urgent need for both immediate mental‑health assistance and long‑term healing pathways for families affected by trauma and loss.
Original reporting: Dallas TX News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
