In Good Health

In Colorado today, we know that far too many individuals, families and communities are facing behavioral health issues that are often invisible and unspoken due to geographic, cultural, gender and racial barriers.   

Our state is in the throes of a behavioral health crisis. Suicide rates are rising and addiction is rampant in urban, rural and frontier communities.

Across Colorado, we hear and see that having comprehensive and affordable behavioral health services in reach is a pressing need that many go without – from our youngest to oldest residents. And, despite how palpable and unrelenting this issue is, the stigma persists.

The data paint a staggering picture. According to Mental Health America, Colorado ranks 43rd in the nation for mental

The image of a crying 2-year-old girl whose mother is being searched and detained near the Mexican border in Texas has become an iconic symbol of family separation that far too many have seen on repeat this week.

The gut-wrenching sounds of children crying while being separated from their migrant parents has been cast across the media and directly to our ears through television, computers and our phones and tablets. In one recording, you can audibly hear children gasping for air, as they sob and scream for their parents in Spanish. It broke my heart to hear that. 

The health of a child is critically shaped through the nurturing experience of trusted adults. Young children in particular need a stable,

In early June, the Foundation’s Board of Directors hit the road on three separate tours of Colorado. Afterward, President and CEO Karen McNeil-Miller interviewed the Foundation’s Board Chair Jerome Davis, regional vice president of Xcel Energy, on his perspectives and those of the full Board.

Karen: So, Jerome: you and the rest of the Board were divided up into three groups, put on buses and sent out across our beautiful state. Why? We wanted to give you a sampler of the places we’re working in, to give you a sense of the urban/rural divide and show you some grassroots organizations and bigger systems outside of Denver. Talk to me about the “so what?” of what you and the others

As a Senior Program Officer at the Colorado Health Foundation, I am continuously learning how social, environmental and economic circumstances contribute to our overall health. This understanding is vital to the success of the work we do across the state.

Last month, I attended Poverty’s Impact on Colorado’s Health, a Symposium Unplugged event the Foundation hosted in Cañon City, Colorado. Nearly 200 people gathered on the grounds of a former monastery to discuss issues related to the intersection of poverty and health.

What we heard, over the course of the day, was that poverty and health are inextricably connected. That well-being is near impossible without economic opportunity and in the face of systemic obstacles. And that the resiliency of