When it comes to getting help for behavioral-health issues or depression, a screening is a good place to start.
That was one of the primary messages that Andrew Romanoff, president and CEO of Mental Health Colorado, brought to Telluride last week.
Romanoff was the keynote speaker of Thursday’s Behavioral Health Summit 2016 held at the Peaks Resort & Spa in Mountain Village. On Wednesday, he kicked off a Behavioral Health Community Forum at Telluride Middle/High School’s black box theater.
The events grew out of a need for more information on mental health issues and assistance, given an increase in suicide rates locally, regionally and statewide. According to Mental Health Colorado, a Denver nonprofit, more than 1 million Coloradans — one out of every four residents — experiences a mental health or substance-use disorder each year. Most go without treatment.
“Mental illness is real,” Romanoff emphasized during a Daily Planet interview Friday. “It touches every family in Colorado. It’s a matter of life and death, and most people are not getting the treatment they need.”