We bring many partners and community members together through our Collective Impact line of service. Together, we have been updating the community-wide behavioral health strategic plan. The plan is reviewed at least every 5 years. This is the 3rd version of a countywide behavioral health strategic plan. It is informed by the Community Health Needs Assessment by Grand County Public Health. Each strategy is assessed to determine if it is:
- achievable,
- impactful to outcomes,
- cost-effective or has strong funding potential,
- evidence-based / evidence-informed solutions,
- has a strong champion – one or more community partners who are current or probable leaders to put the plan into action.
Areas of Impact
The mental health system is huge. The entire country is facing mental health provider shortages and system concerns. Many policies and outcomes are set at the federal level. We chose areas of impact on which we can make a significant difference locally.
The following areas of impact were developed with 47 partner agencies and over 76 individuals, including community members with lived experience with the mental health system.
- Access to care
- Awareness and education
- Prevention
- Recovery
- Providers
History
Behavioral or Mental Health is a top community health concern in our county. Unfortunately, we are not alone. Behavioral health is a priority concern in the Northwest Region of Colorado, the entire state, and even the nation. The behavioral health system is complicated and confusing. Funding for services comes from over 53 sources, making it very difficult for providers to understand how individuals fit into the funding. And this makes it even harder for an individual seeking mental health services to understand where to go to access the services they need when they need it.
Grand County nonprofits, government agencies, schools, and providers began discussing a countywide strategic plan to address mental health in 2013. We realized that in order to make an impact for our community, we need to work together to address many different areas at the same time.
We completed our first Behavioral Health Strategic Plan in 2014. Our second behavioral health strategic plan was in 2018. In 2020, we faced COVID and the East Troublesome Fire as a community, which changed some community needs for mental health. So we completed our third process in 2022.
Some key accomplishments from the past plans are:
- Health and Human Resources Coalition
- Single source website for all health resources – www.healthygrandcounty.org
- Mental health resource website – www.buildinghopegrand.com
- Early Childhood Mental Health Specialist
- Youth and Adult Mental Health First Aid
- Behavioral Health Navigator Program
- Short-term funding for M1 Hold transportation
- Advocating for long-term funding for M1 Hold transportation
- Nurse Family Partnership
- Teen Mental Health First Aid in West Grand School District
- Storytelling and multi-media awareness campaign
These are the successes of many community organizations and individuals. Together, we are making a difference in our community’s ability to be as mentally healthy as possible.
This is called Collective Impact. This means many partners work together to achieve a common vision, supported by a Backbone (Grand County Rural Health Network’s Health and Human Resources Coalition) and Steering Committee (Behavioral Health Strategic Planning Committee).
Get Involved
There are many ways to get involved.
- Join the Behavioral Health Strategic Planning Committee. We meet quarterly to review progress, hold each other accountable, and adjust strategies as needed based on current information. Our 2024meetings will be held:
>March 14 from 3-5 pm. Click here for details
>June 13 from 3-5 pm. Click here for details
>September 12 from 6:30-8:30 pm. Click here for details
>December 12 from 3-5 pm. Click here for details
- Join a work group. These work groups dig deeper into the subject matter and clarify strategies.
a. Recovery and Prevention Workgroup
b. Awareness, Education, and Outreach Workgroup
c. Community Mentor Workgroup
To sign up, contact Grand County Rural Health Network at 970-725-3477 or email mail@gcruralhealth.org.