News Clips
Free therapy and mental health screenings for Colorado kids in the works
April 20, 2021
By: Kasia Kerridge
Originally reported on KKTV11 News
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - After such a difficult year, mental health advocates are working to provide free therapy and mental health screenings for Colorado children.
Lawmakers are working to pass a Colorado bill that will allocate $9 million to provide free screenings and three free mental health sessions to kids. Officials say 12-year-olds and older would be able to consent on their own to receiving treatment.
“The challenges of this last year will likely continue to affect kids past ...
COVER STORY | Hard times yield good prospects for Colorado’s mental health care
April 11, 2021
By: Joey Bunch
Originally found in The Colorado Springs Gazette
Colorado's need for mental health care has never been greater, after a year of living under the dark clouds of COVID-19, economic disruption, social unrest, record wildfires and another mass shooting.
Government money has never been easier to come by. Peanut butter, meet jelly.
The problem for the General Assembly, with billions to divvy up, is priorities and followthrough, more than politics or money, according to advocates and lawmakers engaged in figuring it out.
Read the ...
Coloradans Are Bracing for a Mental Health Crisis After COVID-19
April 2021
By: Jenny MCCoy
Article originally found in 5280
Brittany Kochar, 31, weathered the first six to eight months of the pandemic fairly well. But as time dragged on, the Littleton resident, who in 2019 was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after her sister was murdered, began to feel the isolation eroding her mental health. Toward the end of 2020, Kochar’s anxiety, frustration, and PTSD increased—and they’ve only intensified in the new year. “Recently, I felt a lot like this isn’t really living, this is just surviving,” Kochar says. ...
Rep. Amabile: Solitary confinement is tantamount to torture. Our bill would restrict it in Colorado’s jails.
By: Rep. Judy Amabile, April 4, 2021
Originally found in the Colorado Sun
This past year has been one of loneliness and isolation for many. We have been denied the company of family and friends. The things that bring us joy and help us mark the time have been taken away. Social distancing and quarantine have taken a toll on our collective mental health.
However, as we’re isolated with Netflix and take-out, we should reflect on what it’s like to be isolated between four cement walls, with nothing but a mat on a concrete slab and a toilet. Nothing to look at but ...
Spike in suicides in El Paso County jail highlights shortfalls of mental health care for those behind bars
April 3, 2021
By: Olica Prentzel
Article originally found in The Gazette
After a 33-year-old man took his life last week while incarcerated at the El Paso County jail, the number of suicides in the facility since 2019 rose to five, after nearly a decade when none were reported.
Their deaths come as suicides remain as the No. 1 cause of death in jails nationwide and as the El Paso County jail juggled mental health providers after a report found "critical shortfalls" in the jail's former health care contractor. After making the switch to a new contractor, ...
King Soopers workers face panic attacks and anxiety-filled days after mass shooting
March 31, 2021
By: Vicente Arena
Originally appeared on Fox31 Denver
BOULDER, Colo. (KDVR) — The past week and a half has been rough on King Soopers employees after the shooting at the Boulder grocery store on March 22.
Some of them tell us the shooting has left them on edge.
Therapist weighs in on ways to keep us ‘Boulder Strong’
Outside the King Soopers in Boulder, some of the flowers have begun to wilt. Signs are beginning to fade.
But for Logan Smith, memories of the shooting here nine days ago are still fresh and haunting.
“I went to ...
What deems a person mentally ill in a gun background check?
March 29, 2021
By: Rob Low
BOULDER, Colo. (KDVR) — Even if the man accused of killing 10 people at a Boulder King Soopers ends up using a mental illness defense, it’s no surprise a background check didn’t flag Ahmad Alissa as mentally ill when he bought his weapon six days before the mass shooting.
Defense attorneys for Alissa told the judge they need time to learn his history of possible mental illness.
Suspect in Boulder King Soopers shooting appears in court; accused of attempting to murder a 2nd BPD officer
Alissa’s brother told the Daily Beast ...
Trauma From Boulder Shooting Can Impact Those Who Are Far Removed From Event
March 26, 2021
Originally appeared on CBS4 Denver
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4)– As what could easily be considered the worst week in Boulder’s history begins to come to a close, many people remain shocked, saddened and hurt. The grief in the city and around Colorado are hard to deal with for many people.
Another mass shooting in Colorado has people reacting in many different ways.
“Yeah, I’ve been thinking a lot about that,” said Vincent Atchity, President and CEO of Mental Health Colorado. “This is not mental health by any stretch of the imagination and ...
More Coloradans are seeking mental health help, but there aren’t enough professionals for everyone
March 26, 2021
By: Meghan Lopez
This news story originally appeared on the Denver Channel
DENVER — The past twelve months have been incredibly difficult for Coloradans to cope with.
Along with an unprecedented pandemic that led to lock downs, cuts in services, death, illness, job loss and more, the state has also experienced massive wildfires, calls for social justice reforms, a contentious 2020 election, an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and now a mass shooting.
Any one of these events is enough to cause someone to need counseling from a mental health ...
Proposed Law Would Limit the Use of Solitary Confinement in Colorado
March 26, 2021
By: Aubree Hughes, Director of Communications, Mental Health Colorado
Originally appeared in the Pagosa Daily Post
As in most other states across the nation, individuals with serious mental health conditions are entering Colorado’s criminal justice system at alarming rates, as a result of unmet health needs. Some of the most seriously ill of these individuals, many of whom are jailed pre-trial and are still presumed innocent of any crime, are placed in solitary confinement, where their health deteriorates further.
Mental Health Colorado and ...
