20 results for tag: #colorado

Colorado leaders launch website this week to help improve the state’s mental health system

July 3, 2024 By: Tatiana Flowers The Behavioral Health Administration will host public conversations in the coming months to help people learn to use the tool. Those dates will be published on the Behavioral Health Administration’s calendar soon. “It’s important for a public system to have this kind of visibility to show how it’s improving access for people,” Atchity said. “And for our purposes, as advocates, it’s handy — if we can trust this to be thorough and comprehensive.” Mental Health Colorado leaders recently released Know Your Rights information for Coloradans who need mental health and substance use services....

Report: Colorado suicide, mental health crisis lifeline system needs more work

July 1, 2024 By: Eric Galatas Two years after the National 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline was introduced, a new report by the group Inseparable says Colorado and other states have work to do in order to fully staff call centers and connect people with the care they need when they need it most. Colorado is answering just 75 percent of 988 calls, and lacks critical resources including care providers, beds and other facilities. Vincent Atchity - CEO of Mental Health Colorado - said like many other states, Colorado is experiencing a workforce shortage. "Those people don't grow on trees," said Atchity. "So it is difficult to create a system ...

Watch: The Colorado Sun discusses mental health, improving life and care

June 26, 2024 By: Tatiana Flowers Colorado Sun Equity Reporter Tatiana Flowers spoke with a panel of experts about how they see mental illness falling through the cracks, what are some solutions or ways to address the issues, and much more. Speakers included: Sandra Sharp, Vice President of National Alliance on Mental Illness Denver Frank Cornelia, MS, LPC, Deputy Executive Director of Colorado Behavioral Healthcare Council Deborah Harrell, Holistic Healing Practitioner Vincent Atchity, Ph.D., President & CEO of Mental Health Colorado Chief Judge Susan Blanco, 8th Judicial District of Colorado Watch the full video ...

New commission creates statewide standards for Colorado jails

June 23, 2024 By: Zachary Dupont The commission was made up of people with varied backgrounds, including members of law enforcement, victims' rights advocates and mental health specialists. Vincent Atchity, the president and CEO of Mental Health Colorado, who served on the commission, discussed how the variety of backgrounds was greatly beneficial. “It's an unusual space to be in where you've got, on the one hand, the health advocates, and on the other hand the jail-commander types,” Atchity said. “I think that there was all kinds of good ground for collaborative formulation of standards that made sense to people.” Among some of ...

This Pride Month, Recognize the Importance of Supporting LGBTQ Mental Health

June 21, 2024 By: Steven Haden Pride is a time for us to celebrate Colorado’s vibrant LGBTQ+ population, empower each other, and lean into the joy that this month can bring. But at the same time, we must acknowledge the anti-LGBTQ+ hate and violence that seeks to divide us and instill fear and despair in our communities, as well as the ongoing mental health struggles that many LGBTQ+ individuals face. As the founder of Envision:You, an organization that seeks to close the gaps in health outcomes for LGBTQ+ Coloradans, I am intimately aware of the barriers that make it difficult for these individuals to lead happy, healthy lives. LGBTQ+ ...

Colorado mandates new rules for eating disorder clinics in response to patient complaints

June 10, 2024 By: Seth Klamann Colorado’s eating disorder treatment industry will soon face tighter regulations of providers’ practices under a new state law spurred in part by former patients and providers’ accounts of punitive environments and treatment practices. The law, passed by lawmakers this spring as Senate Bill 117, charges the state Behavioral Health Administration with issuing new rules for eating disorder treatment clinics. Those must include requirements for private and clothed medical exams, outside the view of other patients; specific accommodations for transgender and nonbinary patients; guidance for the use of ...

‘Dance to find joy’: Mental health through movement celebrated this weekend

June 6, 2024 By: John Camponeschi “Mindfield” was recently awarded the “What’s Your Peace” award by Mental Health Colorado. This honor is bestowed on artistic works that improve the lives of individuals throughout the state of Colorado. On Saturday, Boulder Ballet’s Ben Needham-Wood and Sadie Brown will lead adult and youth movement classes at Steamboat Fit (385 Anglers Drive) from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. Needham-Wood has worked with the Boulder Ballet since 2022 as their Artistic Director. As a three-time Emmy award choreographer, Needham-Wood is a firm believer in the power of dance and its impact on the mind and body. ...

The Intersection of Mental Health and Independent Publishing

June 3, 2024 By: David Dahl "There is no over-stating the value of independent book publishing to the health of individuals, families, and communities in America and in all the human settlements around the planet that value their own and each other’s humanity and wish to thrive and prosper.Folks aren’t working in independent book publishing if they don’t already feel some strong sense of mission affinity. So that’s good. What they’re doing is vital to the principles that we like about the founding of America. In terms of believing that the first amendment is the first amendment for a good reason and believing that when you give people ...

Legislation aims to enhance eating disorder treatment standards statewide

May 29, 2024 By: The Sopris Sun Over the last two years, EDF and Mental Health Colorado (MHC), a Denver-based mental health advocacy nonprofit organization, have worked together to advocate for more comprehensive and humane legislation for those affected by eating disorders. Vincent Atchity, MHC president and CEO, said a stripped-down version of a similar bill (SB 23-176) passed in 2023. It prohibits insurance companies and treatment facilities from using a person’s BMI, or body mass index, to determine whether to cover eating disorder treatment and prohibits the sale of some diet pills to minors. However, treatment plan regulation ...

Your complete guide to Mental Health Awareness Night and our matchup with Minnesota United

May 23, 2024 By: Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are hosting Mental Health Awareness Night this weekend, where we will provide fans with mental health resources from around the community and celebrate those who help to reduce the stigma around mental health every day. Join us on Saturday as we kick off the night with a Block Party, host a drive for mental health-related donation items and finish with a matchup against Minnesota United FC... Fans will also have the opportunity to bid on player- worn New Day Kits, featuring the special numbers designed by Pat Milbery, through an auction benefitting Mental Health Colorado. Visit their table ...