Author: Debbie Kelley
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Colorado Healthy Kids Survey results show decreases in substance use among teens statewide, increases in depression, stress
The tumult of the COVID-19 pandemic continued to have juxtaposing effects on the lives of 106,800 Colorado teenagers who took the 2021 Healthy Kids Colorado Survey last fall. Participants indicated that feelings of depression and stress anxiety were lingering, according to results the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment released Wednesday. But a lack…
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Low participation on 2021 Healthy Kids Colorado Survey fails to yield data for El Paso County
For the second time, not enough El Paso County secondary students took a voluntary, confidential survey that asks about eating habits, substance use, sexual activity, suicidal inclinations, bullying and other personal health questions, to gather a large enough sample to produce a statistical data set. While that leaves El Paso County Public Health somewhat “blindsided,”…
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Colorado Springs coroner’s annual report spotlights domestic violence, homelessness, fentanyl crises
More than a third of the 61 people murdered in El Paso County last year were killed during a domestic or family violence situation. Seven homeless people froze to death on the streets of Colorado Springs last year, and another five died from exposure to the elements from Jan. 1 through May 31 of this…
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New suicide-prevention program for military veterans, families gets underway in Colorado Springs
At least one military veteran or active-duty service member died by suicide every week in El Paso County last year, according to the coroner’s 2021 investigative death report released Tuesday. “The number is upsetting,” said Damian McCabe, director of behavioral health-military affairs for UCHealth, which operates three hospitals and numerous clinics in Colorado Springs. Of…
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Transitional housing center for homeless veterans in Colorado Springs closes its doors
After 22 years of operation, the Crawford House, a transitional housing center in Colorado Springs for homeless veterans and former military dealing with substance abuse, has permanently closed. The Colorado Veterans Resource Coalition shuttered its 90-day facility that had a maximum of 20 beds at 415 S. Weber St. with little explanation, and no one…
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Colorado Springs’ first homelessness prevention specialist heading to governor’s office
The city of Colorado Springs’ first homelessness prevention specialist has been tapped to become the first to fill a similar position in the governor’s office. Andy Phelps will leave his job of nearly five years on June 3 as the homelessness prevention and response coordinator for Mayor John Suthers and start June 6 as special…
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Colorado’s pediatric mental health crisis continues, professionals say
A year after Children’s Hospital Colorado declared a state of emergency for pediatric mental health on May 25, 2021, officials say the situation has worsened, as record demand for treatment continues to overwhelm capacity. “The number of children who are coming to us for emergency department care who are in crisis is higher, and our…
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Colorado Springs leaders urge Polis to focus on housing crunch
Saving Coloradans money has been Gov. Jared Polis’ battle cry since this year’s legislative session began in January, and in between signing nine bills on that theme into law on Monday, the governor asked community leaders during a roundtable in Colorado Springs what would further help. Polis ticked off several new measures that came out of…
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Abortion: A great religious divide that also unites faithful opponents and supporters
When anyone seeks counsel regarding abortion from Rabbi Jay Sherwood, leader of Temple Shalom, Colorado Springs’ largest Jewish synagogue, he cites Jewish law, which, he maintains, subscribes to an undisputed rabbinical conclusion that life begins at birth, not at conception. Sherwood points to the Talmud, the main source of Jewish religious law and theology, referencing the unborn…
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Colorado activists on both sides of abortion debate gear up for big fight
Activists on both sides of the abortion debate are gearing up for a prolonged fight they expect to wage if the U.S. Supreme Court, indeed, strikes down Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that legalized abortion in the United States. A leaked draft opinion, first reported by Politico, indicated a majority of justices on the…