Author: Jakob Rodgers, The Gazette
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COVER STORY | Fighting mental illness with affordable housing
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TULSA, Okla. – The door frame that Cathy Carter leans against is all that separates her from the fate suffered by her great aunt in the 1930s. Carter has been diagnosed with anxiety and agoraphobia, and she believes her ancestor suffered similarly or worse. For her great aunt, that meant being hauled away to a California…
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Bottled water on hold as testing gets underway for toxic firefighting chemicals from the Air Force Academy
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The Air Force says it can’t immediately provide bottled water to about three dozen households potentially impacted by toxic “forever chemicals” that originated at the Air Force Academy, despite pleas from an El Paso County commissioner for action. Bottled water will not be given to the households in the Woodmen Valley area until water test…
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Warning signs belie low uninsured rate across Colorado
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The ever-increasing cost of health care – and increasingly skimpy insurance plans – are threatening to undo progress made under the Affordable Care Act in helping people access care and pay for it, a comprehensive biennial survey has found. Colorado’s uninsured rate held steady this year at 6.5%, according to the 2019 Colorado Health Access…
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Access to mental health, substance abuse treatment in Colorado getting worse, survey finds
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Coloradans say it’s only getting harder to access mental health and substance abuse treatment due to stigma and the prohibitively high cost of therapy. The number of Coloradans who went without needed mental health care in the previous year nearly doubled from 2017, according to the most recent Colorado Health Access Survey by the Colorado…
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Colorado School of Public Health to study toxic ‘forever chemicals’ in El Paso County
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The Colorado School of Public Health will receive at least $1 million to begin studying the health effects that toxic “forever chemicals” have had on 1,300 children and adults living in Security, Widefield and Fountain. The research team was among six selected across the nation for the federally funded study – a first-of-its-kind effort to…
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Immigrant advocate killed in crash with Salvadoran who sought sanctuary in Colorado church
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A father of five who staunchly supported immigrants died when his motorcycle reportedly was hit by a Salvadoran motorist who sought sanctuary from deportation seven months ago in a Colorado Springs church. Sean Buchanan’s family grieved his death Thursday and the tragic irony of an Aug. 2 wreck that involved a member of the very…
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Polis’ behavioral health task force calls for ‘systemic transformation’
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CASTLE ROCK ? The leader of Gov. Jared Polis’ new behavioral health task force kicked off the group’s work Monday calling for a “systemic transformation” to Colorado’s mental health and substance abuse recovery system. “I will be really disappointed if we come back with just a few incremental changes,” said Michelle Barnes, executive director of…
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Drug overdose deaths across Colorado drop for the first time in years
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Drug overdose deaths across Colorado eased slightly in 2018 for the first time in years, led by a drop in prescription painkiller deaths that have been a root cause of the opioid epidemic. Across the state, 974 people died from drug overdoses last year – a 38-person drop from the state’s record death toll set…
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Fort Carson leaders promise improvements to housing amid complaints about poor living conditions
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Officials of U.S. Army Fort Carson near Colorado Springs vowed to improve on-post housing after a scathing report found decrepit conditions and poor maintenance at installations across the country, prompting an outcry from some congressional leaders. “Are we perfect? Absolutely not,” said Col. Brian Wortinger, the post’s garrison commander. “Are we trying awfully hard? Yes,…
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Polis announces task force to reform Colorado’s behavioral health care system
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Governor Jared Polis on Monday announced the creation of a behavioral health task force aimed at overhauling Colorado’s system for treating people battling mental illness and substance abuse. The announcement came a day after The Gazette published a special report that found Colorado’s mental health system is in crisis, with hundreds of thousands of Coloradans…
