1041 results for author: Mental Health Colorado

Mental Health Colorado’s Legislative Report Card

https://youtu.be/6vAP-6Fnidc Nancy VanDeMark, Mental Health Colorado’s president and CEO, along with key Mental Health Colorado legislative staffers, review the Colorado State Legislature’s successes and failures in enacting key legislation essential to meeting Colorado’s mental health and substance use treatment needs.

Gov. Polis visits Pueblo, Colorado Springs to sign bills into law

By: Alasyn Zimmerman May 14, 2019 PUEBLO- With the legislative session over, Governor Jared Polis is signing bills into law. On Tuesday, the Governor made his way to southern Colorado: making stops in Pueblo and Colorado Springs. Among the bills Polis made law included bills to expand a medication-assisted opioid treatment program currently in Pueblo and Routt counties. The bill was Senate President Leroy Garcia’s top priority this session. The expansion will add programs in the San Luis Valley. Polis also signed a bill that creates a tracking program for treatment facilities in the state. This way, anyone seeking care could ...

Lisa & Max: We Are All Human

The views and opinions expressed in following story are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Mental Health Colorado. Most days now when I wake up, I have a panicky feeling in my chest and racing thoughts in my mind.  I don’t always write, but I know that I need to express all these overwhelming thoughts and feelings.  I never know what is going to come out, but it is images of my family running through my mind almost all the time.  We are all impacted by stress in our collective lives. That’s just how families work. We absorb all of it. Something that is a constant in our home right now is depression.  I ...

Mental Health Colorado, Governor’s office kick off ‘Mental Health Month’ with focus on treatment access for rural Coloradans

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 1, 2019 Media Contact: Aubree Hughes, 405-615-3845 Mental Health Colorado, Governor’s office kick off ‘Mental Health Month’ with focus on treatment access for rural Coloradans DENVER—Key allies joined together today to declare May as ‘Mental Health Month.” Mental Health Colorado’s theme for May is “Navigating the System: Access for all Coloradans.” “As a statewide advocacy organization, Mental Health Colorado is committed to ensuring access to mental health and substance use treatment,” said Nancy VanDeMark, Mental Health Colorado interim CEO. “Nearly half a million Coloradans don’t get ...

Opinion: To prevent child maltreatment, we must strengthen families. Let’s start with House Bill 1193.

By: Jade Woodard and Nancy VanDeMark April 21, 2019 More than 250 people came together at the Capitol earlier this month to draw attention to the need to strengthen families — a time-honored tradition among advocates during National Child Abuse Prevention Month in Colorado. It is a time to recognize that we all play a role in improving the lives of children, youth and families. Link to full story here. Originally appeared on The Colorado Sun.

Suicide of Sol Pais — Florida teen seen as threat to Denver-area schools — highlights mental health, mass tragedies

By: Jessica Seaman April 19, 2019 When Sol Pais traveled to Denver on Monday and bought a gun, it triggered a daylong search before she was found dead of a suspected suicide — an ending that has brought mental health and mass tragedies back into the spotlight on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting. There’s still a lot unknown about the 18-year-old Florida woman’s trip to Colorado. But her death highlights both the rise in teenagers and young adults killing themselves and the complexity of mental illness and mass shootings — or, in this case, potential threats of violence. Overall, the ...

Judith Sara Gelt: Reckless Steps Toward Sanity

The views and opinions expressed in following story are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Mental Health Colorado. I grew up in a home invaded by bipolar disorder that stuck fast to my mother, a woman who suffered from the time she was 54 until she died at 97. My father, a man who needed to control his world, was confused, angry and mean. Her illness didn’t pay him any mind. And, residue from major depressive disorder has clung to me since my early 40s. In my memoir (Reckless Steps Toward Sanity, University of New Mexico Press, 2019), I describe my feelings about my depression— This was serious depression, ...

Collective sorrow, insistence on meaningful change

April 19, 2019 These are heartbreaking times for our state. Just as we reflect on a school tragedy from 20 years ago and honor the memory of all its victims, we are reminded in the present day of ongoing challenges by yet another threat to our safety. Our sorrow and our dread continue. In this latest instance, we’re thankful to our first responders, school officials and understanding parents and guardians who acted quickly to secure the safety of our students, teachers and school administrators. In light of these recent and past events, Mental Health Colorado shares in our community’s collective sorrow, worry and insistence on meaningful ...

20 years later: How Columbine changed mental health response

April 18, 2019 The tragic Columbine shooting forever changed our schools and first responders – here’s how. We took a look at some of the resources developed in the aftermath of the Columbine shooting. One of the biggest changes, more access to mental health resources for our students. Sadly, numbers show it’s still not enough. Safe2Tell is an anonymous tip line where students or parents can report something concerning or threatening.  According to the Safe2Tell tip line , the most common tip they receive year after year is about suicide. The numbers are staggering! Over 2,500 Safe2Tell tips this year we’re about students ...

American Tragedy: Love is Not Enough

By: KGNU News Staff April 18, 2019 Laurie Freeman has dedicated her life to advocating for mental health after the loss of her husband and son to suicide and her daughter to an overdose. She’s featured in a new documentary titled American Tragedy – Love is Not Enough. “In 2010 I lost my 19 year old son to suicide followed 7 months later by my husband taking his life. 5 years later my daughter overdosed on prescription drugs, so I got very involved with mental health, with suicide prevention, helped found the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Colorado Chapter, served on with it from 2011 until 2016 when I decided I needed to ...