COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – A new push is underway to make youth mental health a top priority for Colorado’s next governor.
Subject matter experts gathered in Colorado Springs Wednesday as part of Mind Our Future, a nonpartisan initiative led by Children’s Hospital Colorado and Healthier Colorado.
“We’ve had 10 to 15 years in Colorado of folks doing blueprints … and all sorts of different studies on the youth mental health crisis,” said Zachary Zaslow with Children’s Hospital Colorado. “I think we know what the challenges are, and so we want a governor who can come into office day one, ready to move solutions across the finish line.”
With about seven months until election day, organizers say they’re collecting input from communities statewide.
The timing of the conversation is significant. As students settle back into school routines after spring break, Children’s Hospital Colorado says it has seen a noticeable seasonal spike in mental health needs.
The hospital reports that over the past two years, April has brought a 20% increase in kids coming to its emergency departments for mental health concerns, compared to other months.
“This time of year, there’s just a lot going on,” Allie Morford, a pediatric psychologist at Children’s Hospital Colorado said. “We see things like graduation. We see transitions. Even exciting things like prom, that can be stressful.”
Mind Our Future is bringing together more than 50 organizations focused on youth mental health and the factors that can influence a child’s wellbeing.
“Socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, all of those things factor into issues that youth have,” said Katie Blickenderfer, Chief Clinical Officer for Diversus Health. “I think the teen population, we’re seeing a lot of social media and isolation issues.”
Advocates say solutions must include early support, not just crisis response.
“I’m a firm believer in prevention services,” Blickenderfer said. “If we can do those services even in elementary age kiddos, it can help grow healthier kids so that we have less issues and crisis happening in teens and young adults.”
Organizers say several gubernatorial candidates have confirmed they will attend a Mind Our Future forum next month. They also say they plan to document what they hear across Colorado and send those findings to the next governor after the November election.
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