CARING FOR DENVER FOUNDATION
IN THE NEWS
Denver hosts first information session regarding mental health funding tax, Seth Juneac, Fox Denver 31
Denver nonprofit organization hosted an information session Saturday to gauge the public on mental health and substance misuse issues in the community.
Caring4Denver is tasked with identifying how to prioritize the funds coming from the mental health funding tax approved by Denver voters in November 2018. The measure would put $0.25 from every $100 spent into a community fund. Saturday’s meeting is to help determine how the estimated $45 million should be spent.
“As we form our strategic priorities, it’s important for us to community input,” said Caring4Denver executive director Lorez Meinhold. “Really hoping to hear from people, both the top issues they see going on in the city and county of Denver that they’re experiencing, the challenges they might face, and to talk about where to start with this funding, where should we start to prioritize funding and having them help inform where we go with those resources.”
Go to caring4denver.org/events for dates, times, locations, and to register today.
Caring Denver Foundation Aims to Include Input from Queer Community, Seth Holder, OutFront Magazine, 11/12/19
On November 7 at the Center for Visual Art, Caring for Denver Foundation held its public launch event. The well-attended event included leaders such as Colorado State Representative Leslie Herod and Carl Clark, M.D. from the Mental Health Center of Denver. Both of them, along with other community leaders, advocates, and persons with lived experience pushed to bring increased funding for mental health and substance misuse needs into reality.
Every day, thousands of our neighbors struggle with mental health and substance misuse, often without the support and resources they need. This is especially true of the LGBTQ community considering,
- In LGBTQ people ages 10-24, suicide is the second-leading cause of death (Centers for Disease Control, 2013).
- People in the LGBTQ+ community experience mental health issues at higher rates. A recent study found 61 percent have depression, 45 percent have PTSD, and 36 percent have an anxiety disorder (Rainbow Health, January 2018). Overall, one in three LGBTQ adults experienced mental illness during the past year (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2015).
- An estimated 25 percent of the LGBTQ community abuses substances, compared to about 9 percent the general population (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2015).
- In a national study, 40 percent of transgender adults reported having made a suicide attempt. Also, 92 percent of these individuals reported having attempted suicide before the age of 25. (The Report of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey, Washington, DC: National Center for Transgender Equality).
- LGBTQ older adults face several unique challenges, including the combination of anti-LGBTQ+ stigma and ageism. Approximately 31 percent of LGBTQ older adults report depressive symptoms; 39 percent report serious thoughts of taking their own lives (American Psychiatric Association, 2017)
During this month and into early December, Caring for Denver Foundation will hold several community-wide events to better understand the specific concerns individuals and families are confronting. As part of this effort, Caring for Denver will be hosting events focused on the unique needs of LGBTQ+ individuals in partnership with Envision:You, One Colorado, and The Center on Colfax.
The events will be held:
November 25, University of Denver, Sturm Hall 379, from 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
December 4, The Center on Colfax, from 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. and again 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Space is limited for each of the events.
According to Envision:You co-founder Steven Haden, “It’s wonderful Caring for Denver Foundation is dedicated to ensuring voices from marginalized communities are heard. We are grateful to the team at the Foundation for their work to address the unique needs of the queer community who face disparities in accessing and receiving care as well as experiencing poor outcomes.”
Will Denver Vote to Fund More Mental Health and Addiction Services?, Daliah Singer, 5280, 10/18/18
House Representative Leslie Herod is asking for the public’s help to address the Mile High City’s dearth of mental health and addiction services. “I see how much the community is hurting. I see our alarming rates of suicide…There are three to four overdoses on the streets of Denver every day,” she says. “We need more help, and we don’t have it right now.”
Currently, the Mile High City doesn’t have the money or the capacity to meet the community’s needs. According to Dr. Carl Clark, president and CEO of the Mental Health Center of Denver (MHCD), one in five people are dealing with a mental health or addiction issue on a daily basis, and one in four will face one over the course of the year. But, he adds, “only two out of five people are actually getting the help they need.” In part, that’s because they don’t know where to go or how to find a provider, or there aren’t any services nearby that they can access.
Denver voters asked to raise taxes to increase mental health, substance abuse funding, 7 News, 10/14/18

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 — Caring 4 Denver — aims to relieve a mental health system under duress, Kevin Beaty, Denverite, 10/15/18

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.
Caring 4 Denver: What You Will Be Voting for in November, Conor McCormick-Cavanagh, 9/27/18

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.”
Denver can and should help those with mental health needs, Leslie Herod & Carl Clark, 10/13/18

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.
"Help Denver win its war against the opioid epidemic" -Dr. Rob Valuck & Rep. Leslie Herod, Colorado Politics, 8/31/18

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.
"Tax hike for Denver mental health and drug services makes the ballot" -Joey Bunch, Colorado Politics, 8/22/18

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.
"Denver Voters To Decide On A Tax That Will Fund Mental Health, Substance Abuse Care" -John Daley, CPR, 8/23/18

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.
Caring 4 Denver on Colorado Inside Out, Colorado Public Television, 8/10/18
"Denver Will Vote on Proposed Sales-Tax Increase to Support Mental Health" -Chris Walker, Westword, 8/10/18

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.
"Supporters of a Denver tax proposal raising money for mental health and addiction services drop off signatures" -Esteban L. Hernandez, Denverite, 8/1/18

"Community Seeks Tax Hike In Denver For Mental Health And Opioid Crisis" -Alan Gionet, CBS 4 News, 6/14/18
"‘Feedback: Caring for Denver’ is a vote for mental health" -Brandon Turner, Colorado Politics, 7/12/18

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.
"Caring for Denver Campaign Kickoff" -Molly Hendrickson, Denver Channel 7, 6/14/18

Representative Leslie Herod discusses the Caring 4 Denver initiative and how it will help people in Denver.
"How a Quarter Can Keep Struggling Non-Criminals in Denver Out of Jail" -Michael Roberts, Westword, 6/14/18

"Denver Ballot Initiative Aims To Finance Mental Health, Substance Abuse Programs" -John Daley, CPR, 4/5/18

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.
"Opinion: Lawmakers should continue to improve mental health care spending in Colorado" -Elizabeth Lochhead, DU Clarion, 4/30/18

"Denver voters could decide on sales tax for mental health, addiction" -Joey Bunch, Colorado Politics, 4/5/18

“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.
"Caring4Denver Campaign Aims To Fund Mental Health Programs" -Mark Ackerman, CBS 4 News, 4/5/18

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.
"Proposed Sales Tax Would Fund Mental Health and Substance Abuse Treatment" -Ana Campbell, Westword, 4/5/18

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.
"Denver sales tax hike would raise millions for mental health care, substance abuse treatment" -Jesse Paul, Denver Post, 4/5/18

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.
"Group Petitions For Sales Tax Increase To Solve City Problems" -CBS 4 Denver, 4/4/18

"Denver tax proposal would raise $45 million per year for mental health, housing, addiction" -Andrew Kenney, Denverite, 4/5/18

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.
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