Symposium Unplugged: Innovating for Behavioral Health Care Access

Colorado is facing a behavioral health crisis, with far too many Coloradans—especially those living on lower incomes—lacking access to the care they need to be mentally well. In response, communities are stepping up and offering innovative and promising solutions ranging from ballot measure successes to cross-sector collaborations that forge nontraditional partnerships for sustainable and replicable change.

Hosted in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, the day featured keynote speaker and Colorado Public Radio’s Vic Vela, who shared his deeply personal story of overcoming addiction and advocating for stronger behavioral health resources for all. This event also offered a behind-the-scenes look at how local and regional solutions that stem from the community take shape to increase access to resources for those who need it the most. 

• Resources:
  • Agenda
  • Video: Archived livestream
  • Alma Overview: An innovate program of Valley Settlement that provides peer-support for women experiencing perinatal depression
  • Crystal Mariscal, Community Advocate: Aqui, en confianza!
  • Overview, Priorities, and Accomplishments of the Mental Health and Substance Use Alliance of Larimer County
  • Healthy Mesa County Community Transformation Overview
  • Primeros Auxilios - Mental Health First Aid Programming
  • Valley Settlement: Programas comunitariors para familias
  • Ballot Measures: Reflections and Lessons Learned Report
  • Harvard Business Review, A Refresher on Storytelling 101
  • Communications Network, Storytelling for Good
  • NTEN, 15 Ways to Harness the Power of Nonprofit Storytelling for Advocacy
  • Healthier Colorado’s Partners in Local Advocacy

A complement to the annual Colorado Health Symposium, Symposium Unplugged engages participants in a single, health-focused conversation in a smaller, more intimate setting. The purpose of this ongoing series is to dig deeper into one of the many topics discussed at the Symposium.