News Clips
SUMMIT DAILY LETTERS: A MATTER OF LIFE OR DEATH ON THE BALLOT
By: Andrew Romanoff
October 12, 2018
Suppose you just landed on earth.
You go looking for the most beautiful place on the planet, so you come to Colorado. But amid the majesty of the mountains, you find people dying by suicide — more than 1,000 each year. Thousands more are sleeping on the streets or languishing in prison cells.
Here in Summit County, the suicide rate is three times the national average. Adults in the county have the highest rate of binge drinking in Colorado.
We can be shocked by these statistics or we can change them. The good news: Summit ...
WHERE GOVERNOR, AG CANDIDATES STAND ON RED FLAG LAWS
By: Joe St. George
October 8, 2018
DENVER - When Deputy Zackari Parrish was killed during an ambush on New Years Eve all of Colorado grieved.
However those emotions did not get the Zackari Parrish Violence Prevention Act passed at the State Capitol earlier this year.
The bill, which would have allowed family members and law enforcement officers to go before judges and request guns be temporarily taken away from individuals who pose risks, failed in the Republican controlled state Senate.
With a new crop of politicians set to enter the Capitol in ...
THE JONES FAMILY TALKS THE IMPORTANCE OF MENTAL HEALTH
October 8, 2018
This week, you're gonna hear more conversations about mental health care as this is a nationally recognized week when organizations are trying to spark discussions to remove the stigma.
Originally appeared on 9News.
LAWS MANDATE EQUAL COVERAGE FOR MENTAL HEALTH BUT WE DON’T SEE IT IN COLORADO
By Andrew Romanoff
October 8, 2018
A teenager trapped by depression. A daughter addicted to heroin. A son lost to suicide.
More than a million Coloradans face a mental health or substance use disorder, but only half get the care they need.
The consequences can be catastrophic: crowded emergency rooms and prison cells, increased unemployment and homelessness, and one of the highest suicide rates in the nation.
This crisis is not simply statistical — it’s profoundly personal.
Dani was 16 when she was diagnosed with anxiety and ...
FOR MOTHER AND STAR ATHLETE DAUGHTER, MENTAL ILLNESS A CRUCIBLE OF PAIN
By: Rachel Riley
Oct. 6, 2018
Alone in a cell for 23 hours a day, gripped by delusions and reluctant to take the medications that would ease the symptoms of her psychosis, Jessica Muñoz-Ciro wanted to end the pain.
She leapt head-first from the top of a bunk bed at the El Paso County jail with enough force to crack her front teeth.
The fall didn’t kill 26-year-old Muñoz-Ciro, once a junior world racquetball champion who’d been arrested this year after she, in the midst of a manic episode, lashed out at law enforcement officers.
...
MILLIMAN RESEARCH REPORT: MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH DISPARITIES
According to the Milliman Research Report, Colorado’s insurers pay mental health professionals 30 percent less than they pay other providers.
Some mental health professionals tell us even when they try to join insurance networks, they’re turned away. As a result, Coloradans are going out of network seven times more often for mental health and substance use services than for physical care.
Read the full study here.
DEMOCRAT-LED BILLS THAT DIE EVERY YEAR IN SENATE COMMITTEE COULD SOON STAND A CHANCE
By: Faith Miller
September 26, 2018
You’ve heard it: Talk of a so-called “blue wave” sweeping the nation that could change the balance of power. If the wave hits Colorado’s Legislature it could mean the passage of bills representing longtime Democratic goals that have been thwarted, sometimes for years, by a narrow Republican majority in the state Senate.
Republicans have held the Senate since 2014, where they now hold a two-seat majority, while the House has been led by Democrats since 2012, now by a solid seven-seat majority. ...
COLORADO SPRINGS TEEN RECOGNIZED FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION EFFORTS
By: Jessica Barreto
September 22, 2018
DENVER – A state-wide annual gala is honoring Governor John Hickenlooper — along with a teen and a company out of Colorado Springs for being leaders in the mental health and substance abuse treatment community.
Mental Health Colorado honored 17-year-old Macy Klein at their annual Tribute Gala for starting the non-profit Project Reasons after she overcame her own struggle with depression and thoughts of suicide.
Attorney General Cynthia Coffman and Don Brown from the Governor’s Cabinet presented her with the “Indi...
NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION WEEK
September 16, 2018
Life in Colorado News/Talk - KNUS
Listen to the podcast here.
This week is National Suicide Prevention Week. Over the last few years suicide rates increased nationally and in our state. Currently Colorado is ranked ninth in the nation for suicide fatalities. We speak with Andrew Romanoff. He is the President and CEO for the non-profit group Mental Health Colorado. He shares his insights on this alarming trend and the steps his organization is taking to raise awareness and provide avenues of hope.
NONPROFIT SURVEYING STATE LAWMAKER CANDIDATES ON MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES
By: Alasyn Zimmerman
September 15, 2018
COLORADO- This fall’s election is less than two months away and a non-profit wants to know where hopeful lawmakers stand on mental health issues.
‘This is a teachable moment for candidates,’ said Andrew Romanoff, President & CEO of Mental Health Colorado.
The survey asks candidates how they plan to address mental health concerns in the legislature.
‘If you’re running for office you’ve got to answer tough questions all the time you got to tell where you stand on abortion, gun control and other hot topics ...
