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Grand County organizations release county-wide plan to address mental health crisis

The last assessment of mental health needs in Grand County was in 2018

From left to right, Makena Line with Mind Springs Health, Jen Fanning, the former executive director of Grand County Rural Health Network, Jessica Reed with Middle Park Health, Austin Wingate with Grand County EMS, and Lindsey Simbeye with the Colorado Consortium for Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention. The group gathered for the fentanyl education presentation on Nov. 29, an ongoing series of fentanyl awareness presentations at local high schools.
Grand County Rural Health Network/Courtesy photo

The Grand County Rural Health Network, Mind Springs Health, Grand County Public Health and 27 community partners have finalized a community-wide mental health and wellness action plan, according to a press release from the Grand County Rural Health Network.

The Behavioral Health Strategic Plan identifies the current resources available as well as future resources needed to serve the identified needs of Grand County. The plan’s areas of focus include access to care and providers, education, prevention and recovery.

This assessment is the third of its kind. The last assessments were in 2018 and 2014.



“Our community, like so many rural Colorado communities, struggles with mental health and substance use issues,” Jen Fanning, Executive Director of the Grand County Rural Health Network, wrote in the press release.

“Nationally, 1 in 5 people will experience a mental health or substance use issue in any given year. It’s often that seeking treatment can be delayed for years, having lasting effects on that person’s ability to thrive,” Fanning added.



According to the press release, Grand County emergency medical services responded to 145 calls regarding substance use in the first half of 2023. Since 2020 there have been 22 drug-related deaths in Grand County.

Since 2020, five of the drug-related deaths were linked to overdose.
Grand County Rural Health Network/Courtesy photo

The plan addresses concerns raised by community members and local organizations.

Strategies that are currently underway and in progress include:
  • Mind Springs Health and law enforcement have begun to implement crisis co-response.
  • Fentanyl harm reduction resources (e.g. Naloxone) are available to organizations and/or the public through agencies such as Grand County Public Health, Grand County EMS, Grand County Rural Health Network and Tame Wellness.
  • Fentanyl awareness presentation at Middle Park High School on Nov. 29.
  • Mental Health First Aid classes are open to all community members. The classes are taught by Makena Line from Mind Springs Health and are free, financially supported by the Grand Foundation’s H.O.P.E. Fund.
  • Mental health resource and education website, BuildingHopeGrand.com, founded by the H.O.P.E. Fund.

The plan also includes long-term strategies that could take anywhere from three to five years to complete. For example Oxford House, a sober-living organization, presented information on how to establish sober living homes in September 2023. The plan also aims to reduce barriers to in-patient treatment for mental health and substance-use recovery.

“Each time our community loses someone to substance use or mental health issues, it impacts each and every one of us,” Fanning wrote. “With this plan on paper, we feel tremendously hopeful we can decrease those numbers and create a happier, healthier Grand County.”

To learn more about the Behavioral Health Strategic Plan and how individuals can get involved, visit the Grand County Rural Health Network website. Mental health education and resources are available at BuildingHopeGrand.com.

Over 29 community members and organizations added their input into the plan.
Grand County Rural Health Network/Courtesy photo
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