In Denver, one of those issues is being called Caring 4 Denver, which would raise $45 million every year to fund mental health and addiction services for children and adults by adding a 25-cent tax on every $100 in purchases.

On this weekend’s Politics Unplugged, State Rep. Leslie Herod, D-Denver, talks to Anne Trujillo about why she supports the initiative and why she thinks it eventually will be adopted by other cities and counties across the state.

Initiated Ordinance 301, which appears on Denver’s ballot this year, is one group’s answer. The people behind the initiative marketed as Caring 4 Denver hope it will start moving the city toward improved care for both emergency workers and the people they serve, though even some supporters are skeptical that more money will result in better circumstances.

The measure aims to raise $45 million by adding a quarter-of-a-percent tax on sales – 25 cents on a $100 purchase – that would be pooled for use in mental health services. In the first two years, 20 percent of that money would go into a fund for a new mental health center, then 10 percent of that fund would be earmarked for the facility in following years. Up to five percent could be used for program administration, and the rest could be doled out as grants to any organization needing more mental health support.

In November, Denver voters will weigh whether to pass Herod’s Caring 4 Denver ballot initiative, which would increase the sales tax by .25 percent, or about $45 million annually, to bolsters the city’s existing mental-health and substance-abuse treatment options and fund suicide prevention programs and those targeting the opioid epidemic.

The initiative is also designed to “reduce homelessness, improve long-term recovery, and reduce the use of jails and emergency rooms.” “The largest mental health facilities are jails and prisons,” Herod says. “I think this is the most important issue facing Denver today.”

Caring 4 Denver will appear at the end of ballots in Denver as Initiated Ordinance 301 and will be a one-quarter-of 1 percent sales and use tax increase (25 cents on a $100-dollar purchase), and raise $45 million per year, to be used for improving the quality, availability, and affordability of community based mental health and addiction care in Denver.

Services that could be supported include counseling, in-patient treatment, school services and prevention programs. The funds will be managed by an independent board of stakeholders in mental health and addiction services.

Caring 4 Denver will create a culture of change in our community. We can create a conversation where opioid addiction is destigmatized and help is available for those who need and want it. We have the power to make Denver one of the success stories. We have the power to fight the stigma. We have the power to act. And we have the power to vote to support treatment for opioid addiction and substance abuse.

Caring 4 Denver won’t solve the problem overnight but it will be the single greatest thing Denver has ever done to address the overdose crisis.

A request for a 0.25 percent sales tax for mental health services and addiction treatment qualified for the November ballot in Denver Tuesday.

The measure is expected to raise $45 million to improve “the quality, availability and affordability of community-based mental health and addiction care,” said Caring 4 Denver, the group backing the proposal.

A Denver ballot initiative could bring in tens of millions of dollars a year to help people  with mental health and substance disorder issues.

State Rep. Leslie Herod, a Denver Democrat, is spearheading the “Caring 4 Denver” campaign. She said the proposal makes financial sense in that, if it’s passed by voters, it could fund a variety of mental health programs.

The money would come from a one-quarter of 1 percent city sales tax — that’s 25 cents on a $100 purchase.

“This looks like the big winner on the Denver ballot.” -Patricia Calhoun

Patricia Calhoun, Justine Sandoval, Ross Kaminsky, Dave Kopel and host Dominic Dezzutti discuss Caring4Denver on Colorado Public Television – PBS – CPT12’s show “Colorado Inside Out” last Friday.

The initiative’s sponsors say that the money would address numerous public health and criminal justice crises facing the Denver area, such as extremely high suicide rates, increasing opioid overdoses, and elevated recidivism rates (cycling in and out) at the city’s jail among those struggling with mental health or substance abuse disorders — which is costly to manage.

Denver is seeing an average of three opioid overdoses a day, and a study released on Wednesday by the University of Colorado Boulder found that one in twenty teens showing serious conduct or substance abuse problems dies by suicide in Colorado before the age of thirty.

“People from all walks of life have come together to support mental health and addiction treatment for our friends, family members and neighbors,” Herod said. “We have countless stories of people walking past one of our volunteers until they hear the words ‘mental health & addiction’ and they stop in their tracks and turn around to find out more. We have been thanked over and over for the work we are doing. It is truly inspiring.”

News coverage of the Caring 4 Denver campaign launch.

Too many preventative services are simply not available in Denver to people who can’t afford them. Access to this care can help prevent health crises and emergency room visits because people will have support in combating their illnesses, making it less likely they find themselves in an emergency situation.

For too long, Denver has ignored its mental health and substance abuse crisis. Now is the time to start ensuring every Denver resident has the help they need to get healthy. I urge Denver voters to support the Caring for Denver initiative and help our neighbors begin their path to stability.

Representative Leslie Herod discusses the Caring 4 Denver initiative and how it will help people in Denver.

Denver District Attorney Beth McCann is also a Caring 4 Denver booster. Herod says the DA understands that “what we’re doing right now doesn’t work and it’s costly; it diverts the attention of law enforcement from other safety needs the community has. But law enforcement’s hands are tied. They have to take action when they see something happening on the street — but if they could move people in crisis to a facility, get them to detox, get them the services they need, they would. Caring 4 Denver will help do that — and it also allows for co-responders, more mental health and substance abuse professionals who can ride along with Denver police when it’s appropriate.”

A ballot initiative in Denver could bring in tens of millions of dollars a year to help those with mental health and substance disorder issues.

State lawmaker Leslie Herod, a Denver Democrat, is spearheading the “Caring 4 Denver” campaign.  She says the proposal makes financial sense because if it’s passed by voters it could fund a variety of mental health programs. The proposal calls for a one-quarter of 1 percent sales tax — that’s 25 cents on a $100 purchase.

Therefore, more funding for mental health and substance abuse services is itself a possible way to spend more efficiently. Yes, this will likely require an increase in sales tax, but taxpayers are already spending for high numbers of emergency room visits. Beyond this, more support for those dealing with mental illness and addiction is important for the well-being of any community. Mental illness affects people of all incomes and circumstances, but it is also of the major causes of homelessness, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless, and there are over 5,000 homeless people in Denver (this comes from 2017’s Point-in-Time survey, which acknowledges it is a low estimate due to undercounting).

“I think the most tragic part of it all is that people who know they need help can’t get it,” said Herod, who has worked extensively on the issue in the statehouse. Robert Clark, the president and CEO of the Mental Health Center of Denver, said 1 in 5 people in the city are dealing with a mental health or substance-abuse issue.

“Everybody knows somebody who’s dealing with this problem,” Clark said. “What we want is for the door to be wide-open for anybody to get the help they need.

State lawmaker Leslie Herod, a Democrat representing Denver, is appealing directly to City of Denver voters to help people with mental health and substance abuse problems.

Standing on the west steps of the state Capitol on Thursday, members of the group Caring4Denver said “we can’t rely on Washington” or Colorado lawmakers to fix this problem.

Resources to treat mental-health issues and substance abuse are woefully limited in Colorado.

One in every ten residents lives in a place with little or no access to medication-assisted substance-abuse treatment, while across the state, communities both rural and urban struggle with an ever-expanding opioid epidemic. Treatment for mental-health issues is so scarce, more patients in Colorado must go out of network to find doctors than do patients in most other states. And last year, Arapahoe House, the state’s largest drug-and-alcohol treatment center, closed after more than forty years.

Backers of the effort, including Rep. Leslie Herod, D-Denver, the Mental Health Center of Denver and Mental Health Colorado, say it’s a necessary step to create a sustainable way to help struggling people in Denver and identify ways to promote well-being. The group says polling has shown that Denverites would overwhelmingly support such a sales tax increase.

Mental health, substance abuse and affordable housing groups have said for years that resources in Denver are limited. A group called Caring for Denver wants that to change. They are proposing raising the sales tax to pay for such services. The tax increase would amount to approximately 25 cents on a $100 purchase and could mean $45 million every year for those programs.

The Mental Health Center of Denver is partnering with state Rep. Leslie Herod to campaign for a half-billion dollars of new spending on mental health, addiction services and housing over the next decade.

They want local voters to decide whether to raise city sales taxes by 25 cents per $100 of spending on restaurant meals, consumer goods and more. The hike is expected to generate about $45 million in its first year.