1046 results for author: Mental Health Colorado

One year later pandemic has fostered collaboration, innovation

March 12, 2021 By: Jeanne Davant Originally published in The Colorado Springs Business Journal Fernando Favela gets a COVID-19 vaccination at a pop-up clinic hosted by El Paso County Public Health. Courtesy El Paso County Public Health Before late 2019, most Coloradans associated the word “pandemic” with disaster movies and novels. But on March 5, 2020, the reality of the pandemic hit home as Gov. Jared Polis announced the state’s first confirmed COVID-19 case. One day later, the first case in El Paso County was reported. The virus has wrought economic havoc and unleashed turmoil both in the business world and personal lives — ...

Legislative Education & Advocacy Day (LEAD) Agenda

  12:00 – 12:10 | Welcome - Vincent Atchity, Mental Health Colorado President & CEO, A Message from Sponsors (Rocky Mountain Health Plans, Mental Health Center of Denver, CityWide Banks) 12:10 – 12:12 | Introduction | Jordan Chavez, Host, 9News Reporter 12:12 – 12:16 | A Strong Start For All Children, Support for Families | Shannon Van Deman, Vice President of the Pediatric Mental Health Institute at Children’s Hospital 12:16 – 12:20 | A Strong Start For All Children, Support for Families | William McCall, Incoming Freshman and Mental Health Advocate 12:21 – 12:25 | Wellness in Aging | Jarett Hughes, Senior Policy ...

Secure Transportation Bill 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 9, 2021 Media Contact: Aubree Hughes, Communications Director 405-615-3845 Secure Transportation Bill Introduced to Improve Mental Health Crisis Response, Reduce Burden on Law Enforcement DENVER—In the midst of a mental health or substance use crisis, many Coloradans are transported by law enforcement in handcuffs or by ambulance. According to mental health advocates, this dramatic and inappropriate response exacerbates crises, and can be perceived as a public shaming of people with mental health and substance use conditions. Mental Health Colorado and the bipartisan bill sponsors—Representati...

Mental Health Advocates Introduce Bill To Support People in Recovery, Address Health Care Workforce Shortage

February 28, 2021 Article originally found in My Prime Time News With Bipartisan Support, HB 21-1021 Seeks to Improve Peer Support Services ~ DENVER—In the past two years, the number of Coloradans who didn’t receive mental health or substance use care that they needed nearly doubled—yet, in 2019, Colorado’s behavioral health workforce only met 30% of the state’s need. Mental Health Colorado, Representative Rod Pelton (R), and Representative Yadira Caraveo (D) just introduced House Bill 21-1021 to significantly alleviate the workforce gap through peer support services. Peer supporters are individuals in recovery from mental ...

I choose me: a story of eating recovery

The views and opinions expressed in the following story are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Mental Health Colorado. By: Raya Patel Privilege. There are so many different ways to define this simple world. Webster’s Dictionary defines privilege as, “a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group.” There is no specificity to race, there is no specificity to gender, and there is no specificity to events. I was born into privilege. I never feared for my life, had a roof over my head, and food on my plate. Despite these physical privileges, I did not grow ...

Messages from our sponsors

Citywide Banks passion for mental health wellness goes back to the late 1960’s. It accelerated when the bank played an instrumental role in the development of a major mental health center in 1975. Since then, our focus on mental health advocacy has significantly grown. While we have deep roots in supporting economic development, cancer prevention, mentoring and education, Citywide Banks has a long history of advocating the cause of mental health wellness in Colorado. Citywide Banks has expanded its support by serving on boards, sponsoring advocacy campaigns, promoting mental health first aid programs and contributing significant financial ...

Should every Colorado kid get a mental health exam after enduring coronavirus? It won’t be easy.

February 18, 2021 By: Erica Breunlin Originally appeared in The Colorado Sun Rep. Dafna Michaelson Jenet, a Commerce City Democrat, isn’t sure how to accomplish the logistics, but she thinks her idea is a matter of school safety and statewide health. When Mark Sass has a parent-teacher conference these days, the discussion often isn’t immediately focused on grades. It’s focused on wellbeing. “We need to lead with that mental health concern before we jump into the academics,” said Sass, a part-time social studies teacher at Legacy High School in Broomfield who also runs the Colorado branch of Teach Plus. The nonprofit educates ...

Representative Julie McCluskie

Julie McCluskie State Representative for House District 61 In 2018, Julie was elected State Representative for House District 61 which includes five of the most beautiful counties in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains and along the Western Slope.  In her first session, she was appointed to serve on the Rural Affairs & Agriculture, Education and Appropriations committees. Over the 2019-2020 fiscal year, she was selected to Chair both the School Finance Interim and Appropriations Committees.  Most notably, she was honored to receive an appointment to the prestigious six-person Joint Budget Committee in January 2020.   Her legislative accompli...

Stakeholder Meeting: Emergency Mental Health Procedures

Please join Mental Health Colorado, in collaboration with the Colorado Department of Human Services, Office of Behavioral Health, to discuss how services are provided to individuals experiencing a mental health emergency and ways to improve emergency mental health procedures in Colorado. Stakeholder meetings will be held on the second and fourth Monday of each month from 11:30am to 1:30pm using the same zoom link provided below. Stakeholder meetings will be held from February - November of 2021, with expected legislation to be introduced in the 2022 session. Any updates to the stakeholder process will be provided here and on our Mental Health ...

Mental Health Advocates Introduce Bill To Support People in Recovery, Address Health Care Workforce Shortage 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  Feb. 18, 2021    Media Contact:   Aubree Hughes, Director of Communications  405-615-3845    Mental Health Advocates Introduce Bill To Support People in Recovery, Address Health Care Workforce Shortage  With Bipartisan Support, HB 21-1021 Seeks to Improve Peer Support Services     DENVER—In the past two years, the number of Coloradans who didn’t receive mental health or substance use care that they needed nearly doubled—yet, in 2019, Colorado’s behavioral health workforce only met 30% of the state’s need. Mental Health Colorado, Representative Rod Pelton (R), and Representative Ya...