News Clips
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 ...
Virtual Summit Seeks to Disentangle Mental Health, Criminal Justice in Colorado
January 26, 2021
Originally posted on the Pagosa Daily Post
By Aubree Hughes
In the absence of adequate access to health services, people with unmanaged mental health needs often intersect with law enforcement and spend time in jails, then cycling in and out of detention, homelessness, and joblessness. Mental Health Colorado, the state’s leading mental health advocacy organization, will host the Colorado Counties Virtual Summit on Mental Health and Criminal Justice on Feb. 4 to identify opportunities for state policy change and to promote changing practices ...
NONPROFIT REGISTER | Mental Health Colorado to hold virtual criminal justice summit
January 25, 2021
By: Michael Karlik
Originally appeared in Colorado Politics
Mental Health Colorado
Denver, CO
News: Mental Health Colorado will host the Colorado Counties Virtual Summit on Mental Health and Criminal Justice on Feb. 4 to discuss policies that touch on law enforcement's intersection with people suffering from unmanaged mental health needs.
"Police and sheriffs feel stuck in the awkward position of being the only game in town when it comes to mental health crisis response and providing secure transportation and in-patient settings and ...
Colorado’s Shadow Epidemic: Heightened Anxiety, Depression Testing Families, Communities
January 22, 2021
By: Tina Griego & Susan Greene
Originally appeared on KSUT public radio.
The pandemic. A shaky economy. Wildfires. Polarizing politics. There's plenty to be stressed out about these days. You're not alone. Over the coming weeks, KSUT will share online stories of everyday Coloradans and how they're grappling with the blows of recent events. Read more about “On Edge,” a statewide series on the growing mental health challenges in Colorado, featuring the work of more than 100 news organizations statewide.
On Denver’s west side, an elderly ...
Mental health advocates hope to change the way people are helped while in crisis
By: Anusha Roy
January 13, 2021
Originally appeared on 9News
DENVER — With the 2021 state legislative session, some lawmakers in Colorado are hoping to revisit an idea to stop a practice mental health advocates worry treats people like criminals when they are in crisis.
Vincent Atchity, with Mental Health Colorado, said the secure transportation bill would update the way we get patients to the help they need.
Read the full article on 9News.
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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. ...
“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 ...
