News Clips
Colorado Suicide Hotline Calls Spike During Covid-19 Pandemic
September 11, 2020
Originally appeared in New 99.1 Country
Thursday, September 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day and the suicide prevention hotline is 800 -273 -8355.
When the pandemic hit, Colorado recorded a 40% decrease in suicides in March and April, as reported by the Denver Post. However, later on, calls to the suicide prevention hotline spiked by 48%.
According to Mental Health Colorado, our state consistently has one of the highest suicide rates in the country. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in America with Colorado in the top third ...
Guns Killed Four Times More People of Color Than Whites in Colorado
September 9, 2020
By: Michael Roberts
Originally appeared in Westword
Guns don't discriminate. They're capable of killing anyone, no matter their age, gender or physical characteristics. But in Colorado, they're far more deadly to people of color.
During the first eight months of 2020, during which ninety people were killed by firearms in Colorado, around three-quarters of the victims were people of color, according to the National Gun Violence Memorial.
This percentage is far from what would be expected given Colorado's demographics. As of July 2019, ...
‘Everybody feels it’: Mental-health challenges of working from home, pandemic confront Boulder County residents
September 5, 2020
Originally appeared in the Boulder Daily Camera
Since John Tayer, Boulder Chamber CEO and president, began working remotely his dress attire has changed. While it still includes a button-up shirt and a tie, he has swapped dress slacks for comfortable shorts. Instead of going into the Chamber offices to work, his couch, or occasionally the dining table, is his office.
But working from home isn’t as relaxing as it sounds.
Tayer and other Boulder County professionals in high-stress jobs that are newly remote are learning how to balance family, ...
STRESS TEST: Mental health care services pushed to brink amid COVID-19
By: Kara Mason
Originally appeared in the Colorado Sentinel
ond wave of COVID-19 cases surged across the country and in Colorado this
summer, mental health professionals saw another crisis: More people seeking help and not enough resources.
Even before the new coronavirus infected the U.S., county by county, experts say there weren’t enough mental health workers to meet needs, but stress and isolation due to the virus have intensified an existing quagmire.
It has also presented new opportunities, such as reaching more patients virtually, and led to relaxed ...
Colorado Springs man’s death while resisting arrest another example in mental health response shortcomings, experts say
By: Olivia Prentzel
Read the article in The Gazette
Chad Burnett, 49, as pictured on website for Chaz Pro Bike Fit, his Colorado Springs bicycle fitting service. died May 24 after a struggle with police in the Broadmoor area.
COVID disrupts mental health of workers
By: Ken Amundson
Originally appeared in BizWest
COVID-19 has disrupted, quite obviously, the lives of workers — both at work and in personal terms, resulting in negative effects.
Anxiety, depression, increased addictions, increased alcohol use, disrupted sleep patterns, reduced energy and anti-social behaviors have all been documented since the pandemic began in mid-March.
Yet mental health experts say that life has always been lived in a state of uncertainty. The current situation hasn’t changed that.
Several mental health and human resources experts gathered ...
Opinion: Addressing racism is a mental health priority
By: Vincent Atchity, President & CEO, Mental Health Colorado
Appeared in the Steamboat Pilot and Today
"I love America more than any other country in the world and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.” — James Baldwin
In July, Americans celebrate the birth of independence ― it’s the month of the national holiday when we gather and celebrate our freedom from tyrannical government. But in a country where Black, Indigenous and people of color are less likely to have access to mental health services and more likely ...
Addressing racism is a mental health priority
By: Vincent Atchity, President & CEO, Mental Health Colorado
Appeared in the Boulder Weekly
“I love America more than any other country in the world and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.” — James Baldwin
In July, Americans celebrate the birth of independence. It’s the month of the national holiday when we gather and celebrate our freedom from tyrannical government. But in a country where Black, Indigenous and people of color are less likely to have access to mental health services and more likely to have ...
Mental Health Colorado compiles 2020 legislative report
Originally appeared in the State of Reform
By: Michael Goldberg
Mental Health Colorado – a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that aims to promote mental wellness and ensure equitable access to mental health and substance use care – compiled a legislative report for the 2020 session.
The 2020 legislative session was thrown off course by the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing lawmakers to adjourn in March. When lawmakers returned at the end of May, they were forced to shelve many pieces of legislation in favor of addressing the immediate impacts of the pandemic, such ...
5 Things Colorado: Rep. Emily Sirota, Medicaid wave?, Convening Panel
Originally appeared in the State of Reform
By: DJ Wilson
We are about to start getting our band back together…! Meaning, it’ll soon be time to pull together our Convening Panel ahead of our 2020 Colorado State of Reform Virtual Health Policy Conference! The conference, held each year in October, will be a chance to reconnect with senior market executives and health policy leaders, yet will do so in the safety of a virtual setting.
If you have suggestions on topics for this year’s Convening Panel, or if you’d like to participate in the process, I’d ...
