1046 results for author: Mental Health Colorado

How to talk to your children about the country’s political climate

By: Jasmine Arenas Originally appeared in KRDO COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Wednesday’s drastic events at the U.S. Capitol were undoubtedly difficult enough for the nation to watch unfold, but how do you help your child understand after seeing from their own perspective? A OnePoll survey says one in three parents are disheartened by the state of the country and even sadder about having to explain it to their child. “I tried to explain what is going on and it is a difficult conversation because they do not understand the whole dynamics," said one parent we spoke to. Vincent Atchity, President and CEO of Mental Health Colorado, ...

Colorado Mental Health Institute Pueblo working on gentler approach to patient care

By: Tracy Harmon Originally appeared in The Pueblo Chieftain In what officials are describing as a “long overdue change,” law enforcement officers will take a step back from dealing with mental health patients in crisis at the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo when a new plan is implemented in February. Instead of uniformed correctional officers, clinical safety specialists will work to de-escalate incidents in a non-confrontational approach to “help create a more therapeutic environment for patients while narrowing the scope of police presence to investigations and transport,” said Dr. Robert Werthwein, director of the Colorado ...

Colorado Office of Behavioral Health Prioritizes Sensible Approach to Promoting Health and Safety

Mental Health Colorado released the following statement:   Casting police and sheriffs in the lead role for responding to the mental health needs of the population is neither appropriate, nor healthy, nor sound fiscal policy. The legacy of our society’s systematic discrimination against people with mental health needs—defaulting to law enforcement and the justice system to respond to health crises—is a wasteful misapplication of resources and yields poor health and safety outcomes at tremendous cost to individuals, communities, and the economy at large.  Mental Health Colorado recognizes model efforts to shift the country ...

Corrections officer title will change to ‘clinical safety specialist’ at Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo

Article originally appeared on KKTV 11 News PUEBLO, Colo. (KKTV) - A change in title and duties are expected for corrections officers at the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo. In a letter sent out to employees at the Pueblo location Wednesday morning and obtained by 11 News, the title of corrections officer will be changed to Clinical Safety Specialist (CSS). The change is expected to impact about 45 staff members. In the letter sent by Robert Werthwein, the Director for the Office of Behavioral Health, the policy describing the specific role and management of the new CSSs is still being drafted. “This change is, in part, intended to ...

Our sincerest gratitude

On behalf of everyone at Mental Health Colorado, thank you to everyone who gifted a donation to Mental Health Colorado yesterday on Colorado Gives Day. There would be no statewide champion to advocate for mental health without the generous support of our donors over the years. Your donations have allowed us to remain faithful to our mission for nearly 70 years and will help us continue to advocate and educate in 2021 and beyond. Again, I’d like to express our deepest gratitude and appreciation—we are forever thankful for your support. Sincerely, President & CEO Mental Health Colorado

On Edge: Heightened anxiety, depression are testing Colorado’s already-frayed safety nets

By: Tina Griego and Susan Greene Originally posted in The Colorado Sun As coronavirus makes another virulent run through Colorado, a silent epidemic of mental health challenges is feeding on the anxiety and isolation of the pandemic. On Denver’s west side, an elderly man had been managing his solitude just fine until the pandemic hit, taking with it what social life he had and leaving in its place a loneliness he had not felt for years. Not far from his house, a young woman fights panic attacks after COVID-19 killed her grandfather and landed her in the hospital. Now, she fears the virus will come for her again and this time she will die. In ...

“ON EDGE”: CONVERSATIONS ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH IN A TIME OF CRISIS

Article originally found in Ask Valley Voice Ark Valley Voice is one of nearly 100 news organizations across the state that make up the nonprofit Colorado News Collaborative (COLab). Starting Sunday, December 6, we launch a multi-part statewide series on growing mental health challenges amid the confluence of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic crisis, civil rights unrest, climate change, and political upheaval. You can find our stories, and the conversations that provoke the tough questions at www.arkvalleyvoice.com The series, called “On Edge,” seeks to normalize conversations about mental health, with a special focus on communities with ...

First COVID took his friends, then it took his health

By: Tina Griego Article originally appeared in The Denver Post Eddie Kemm found the pool table early in the pandemic, not long after the governor’s order shut down the bars — including Kemm’s favorite pool hall. When the halls went dark, so, too, did a significant part of the social life of an 81-year-old man who lives alone. It was like an amputation. He was, he says, miserable. In ordinary circumstances, Kemm would not have made a purchase impractical for a man living on $1,200 a month. But then the stimulus check arrived and, even if it hadn’t, the difference between luxury and necessity lies in the eye of the beholder during the ...

A fantasy football team for mental health

“You’re not alone” are the three simple but powerful words that Denver Bronco Austin Fort will wear on his cleats this Sunday. The talented tight end has faced heartbreaking injuries, including a season-ending ACL tear. Austin knows how important mental health is to his overall wellbeing and performance as a professional athlete, which is why he has chosen to wear Mental Health Colorado’s logo this weekend. We’re honored to be chosen, and we can’t stop here. We want to build an entire fantasy team for mental health so we can finally end the shame and discrimination that so many of us—even professional athletes—face. We need your ...

Mental health services still available despite return to remote learning

By: Bob Wooley Article originally published in the Golder Transcript Jeffco says school counselors and psychologists will help students virtually as the pandemic continues. A Stober elementary student does remote-learning from his home in Lakewood. The return to remote learning in the Jeffco Public School District comes with hurdles for some families that go beyond math, science and reading — for students with mental health challenges, all the disruption and distance caused by most classrooms going remote are all the more intense. The school district is quick to say that the support structure of teachers, counselors, ...