News Clips
Denver Business Journal: Mental Health Matters
Mental Health Colorado, along with our partners, created an informative supplement focused on workplace wellness in the Denver Business Journal for May, Mental Health Month. The supplement is packed with information and resources to help people navigate the mental health system and learn why mental health matters. Take a look at it!
Treatment, not jail for mental health
KOAA.com | Continuous News | Colorado Springs and Pueblo
PUEBLO - It's estimated that as many as million Coloradans suffer from varying degrees of mental illness, yet most wait too long to seek treatment. More than a thousand suicides are recorded in our state every year.
Andrew Romanoff, the President and CEO of the non-profit advocacy group Mental Health Colorado, wants to change things. At a luncheon hosted by the Pueblo Latino Chamber of Commerce Friday, Romanoff talked about the successful passage of State Senate Bill 207, which ends the practice of so-called ...
Colorado jails won’t be used to ‘hold’ mentally ill
Colorado county jails will no longer be used to temporarily detain people suffering from mental illness or episodes, according to a new law signed by Gov. John Hickenlooper.
"It's an area where Colorado is leading the way," he said. "Being in jail is probably the worst way to treat someone suffering from a brain disease."
Senate Bill 207 also authorizes $7 million from legalized marijuana revenues to create mental-health response teams to help law enforcement deal with mentally ill people -- particularly in rural areas.
Former House Speaker Andrew Romanoff, who ...
Andrew Romanoff visits Steamboat Springs to talk mental health
Steamboat Springs — For the past two years, Andrew Romanoff has traveled across the state hoping to have a "Conversation with Coloradans" about mental health in their communities.
"This is the second year for our listening tour," Romanoff said during a recent telephone interview. "We want to hear what the barriers are in our state for mental health care."
Romanoff was a member of the Colorado House of Representatives from 2000 to 2008 and served as speaker of the house from 2005 to 2008.
But the past several years, the former state representative has shifted ...
Recently Completed Legislative Session Leads To Big Gains In Mental Health Care
Mental health care was one area perhaps lost in the shuffle of the 2017 legislative session amid high-profile issues like transportation, the hospital provider fee and what constitutes the public consumption of marijuana.
But officials say 2017 was a banner year filled with advances that will have a great impact across Colorado. In one example, the House and Senate both passed -- and Gov. Hickenlooper signed into law last month -- a bill that provides support to students who may be dealing with mental health issues. Another is designed to end the use of jails and correc...
Mental health discussion centers around barriers
In conjunction with Mental Health Awareness Month, Mental Health Colorado’s Statewide Tour visited La Junta and Arkansas Valley residents recently at Woodruff Memorial Library.
The tour focused on the barriers that prevent people from getting the mental health care that they need and the solutions to ensuring that appropriate care is provided to individuals in the Arkansas Valley. At the state level, Mental Health Colorado advocates for the more than one million Coloradans who experience a mental health or substance use disorder each year. They engage policymakers, ...
Mental Health group holds ‘conversation’ in Vail
VAIL — It's not hard to fathom that 1 million Coloradans suffer from mental illness, but it's daunting to think only half of them get treatment — for whatever reason. Another alarming statistic: People with mental illnesses start showing symptoms around age 14.
With the suicide rate climbing in Colorado, the people at Mental Health Colorado believe it's time to look at mental health like any other medical crisis.
Mental Health Colorado is an advocacy organization trying to change public stigmas associated with mental illness and policies on local, state and ...
In Aspen, Andrew Romanoff shines light on mental illness
Andrew Romanoff is on a mission to put mental illness on par with cancer.
The former speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives and current mental health advocate said Monday that just 40 percent of Coloradans with a mental illness receive treatment for it.
"What if only 40 percent of Americans with cancer got treatment?" Romanoff said during a presentation at Colorado Mountain College in Aspen. "There would be a huge outcry."
In general, 4 to 5 percent of the population suffer from a serious mental illness, which translates to between 200,000 and 250,000 ...
Former house speaker will present on mental health issues in Aspen
The head of a mental health advocacy organization currently backing a bill in the state capitol that would end the practice of holding those experiencing an acute mental health crisis in jail is speaking in Aspen on Monday to kick off a strategic planning session for local public health leaders.
Andrew Romanoff, who served in the Colorado House of Representatives from 2001 through 2009, and for his final four years as the house speaker, will give remarks during an 8 to 9:30 a.m. talk at the Aspen Colorado Mountain College campus which is open to the public. Attendees ...
Andrew Romanoff talks mental health treatment in Aspen, April 10th
Andrew Romanoff, former Colorado state representative, is now president and CEO of Mental Health Colorado. KDNK’s Amy Hadden Marsh spoke to him about why mental health and substance abuse continue to top the list of public health issues locally and across the state. Romanoff comes to Aspen on Monday at 8 AM at CMC to talk about mental health.
Listen to his interview on KDNK Community Radio here.
