On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-McAllen) announced $480,000 in federal funding for the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s Mental and Behavioral Health Education and Training Program.

According to a news release, the funding was awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and will go towards the interdisciplinary Integrated Primary and Behavioral Healthcare (I2PHB) initiative.

The program aims to train the next generation of mental health graduates.

“I am proud to bring funding focused on expanding and improving access to mental health professionals in South Texas,” Gonzalez said in a news release. “It is vital our community has access to quality, state-of-the-art health care services. Better trained healthcare professionals will be able to better serve our community—especially as we deal with the personal effects of the pandemic.”