GALVESTON, Texas (KTRK) — In Galveston, they have a saying: “It takes an island.”
For Mary Simms Patrick and Galveston ISD, that spirit is seen through their work helping students and their families through the district’s Special Programs department.
She’s like a second mom to me.
Bryonna Mitchell, Galveston ISD student on Special Programs Executive Director Mary Simms Patrick
“We figure out what are the needs of the family. We have different organizations that help us with our food, help us with clothing,” said Patrick, who serves as executive director.
The programs, Patrick says, encompass everything from helping students who are homeless and facing hunger to foster care and truancy. The programs are required in schools in the state of Texas, Patrick explains.
“It’s not just a job for me. It’s a passion for me, and it is my personality. I grew up in a community where different individuals and communities work and help each other,” Patrick said.
Galveston ISD parent Tashona Bradford told ABC13 she’s seen Patrick’s passion firsthand.
“Words can’t express my appreciation. I’m forever grateful,” Bradford says as she gives Patrick a hug. “She was there for my kids and able to help me and my family with groceries and rent and doctor visits. I mean shoes, jackets, even with helping my kids now with Christmas.”
Bradford, who says she is a survivor of domestic violence, told ABC13 she made a life-changing move to Galveston about two and a half years ago.
The mother of four and new grandmother recalled what she endured and knowing she had to escape.
“I was strangled and beaten and almost the house on fire,” Bradford described. “And I said, ‘I have to get away from here.’ I was in fear for a long time.”
Bradford adds, “It just seemed like I couldn’t get out of it, and I got a therapist to tell me that I was diagnosed with PTSD. She said, ‘I just want to tell you I have a place for you and your kids to go for a vacation.'”
That vacation turned into seeking refuge in Galveston.
“I didn’t know if he was coming after the kids,” Bradford said of her ex. “But me coming out here, it was, like, the best decision.”
Bradford isn’t the only one who has credited Patrick and her special programs team with ensuring food, housing, and safety needs are met.
We try to leave no stone unturned.
Mary Simms Patrick on how the Special Programs department works to aid students and families
Bryonna Mitchell, 18, moved to Galveston in February.
“She checks on me, she comes to my school,” Mitchell says of Patrick. “She’s like a second mom to me.”
Mitchell shared with ABC13 that despite a difficult start when she arrived in the district, she’s remained focused on finishing school and wants to become a traveling nurse, a career path she was inspired to pursue after her grandmother Elizabeth was diagnosed with cancer when Mitchell was 14 years old.
“My granny passed away when I was a freshman, so I just wanted to help people that need the help and help families,” Mitchell said. “I feel like something good can happen in life if you help other people that need the help.”
Both Mitchell and Bradford have something in common. Neither shied away from wanting to share their stories.
“We asked her if she would like to participate in this interview. There was no hesitation whatsoever,” Patrick said of Bradford, who expressed why she wanted to go on camera even as a survivor of domestic violence. “Her statement was, ‘I wanted others to know where I’ve been and where I’m going.'”
Patrick explains that Special Programs also helps working students who may need workwear or uniforms for their jobs.
“We’ll go out and purchase those items for them because our goal is to make sure that they’re going to be successful,” Patrick said. “We try to leave no stone unturned.”
“Now the kids are more comfortable and they feel happy about going to school, better in their grades, going to church, don’t mind speaking up,” Bradford said.
“That is the purpose of us helping our families, to get them to the point that they’re self-sufficient,” Patrick said.
Nobody could come as quickly as y’all did to save us.
Mother Tashona Bradford said she wasn’t afraid to share her story with ABC13, in hopes it could help someone else
Assisting families like Bradford’s is why donations – especially before the holidays – are so important, Patrick adds, as they can help ensure students who rely on meals at school don’t go hungry while classes are out for winter break.
For example, Patrick says that when students are in school, they are served breakfast and lunch. If they’re in the after-school program, they receive a snack.
“None of that will take place during that time when they were out for the holiday. Share Your Holidays is just going to be a great opportunity for our families to continue to eat,” Patrick said.
For the last 45 years, ABC13 has partnered with the Houston Food Bank during Share Your Holidays to raise money and collect donations for the 18 counties the food bank serves.
That includes Galveston County, where people are a direct beneficiary of the generosity in southeast Texas.
And while the donations are requested and raised during the holidays, what comes in often stretches beyond this time period to feed families all year long.
“If we would have never opened our mouth to say anything, y’all would have never knew our story,” Bradford said. “What we needed help with, like I said, rent and just bills…. Nobody could come as quickly as y’all did to save us.”
If you or someone you know needs help getting out of a domestic violence situation, call the Houston Area Women’s Center 24/7 hotline at 713-528-2121 or call AVDA at 713-224-9911.
You can also click here to chat with an advocate online. If you are deaf or hard of hearing and need help, call 713-528-3625.
Bay Area Turning Point also offers free and confidential help for victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. If you need help, call 281-286-2525.
About ABC13 Share Your Holidays
What started as an idea to put a food drive on TV for an hour has morphed into a Houston-area wide event going strong 45 years later as the ABC13 Share Your Holidays Food Drive.
Since 1980, the year the drive launched at ABC13, millions upon millions of cans of food have been collected through Share Your Holidays.
As the need grows, there are easy ways to help our neighbors if you’re in a position to do so.
– Text “SYH2025” to 71777
– Scan the QR code seen on-air on ABC13 during Share Your Holidays stories
– Visit the 2025 SYH fundraising page online
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