don mares
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Before Stage 4: An important call to action for the mental health of all Coloradans
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I want you to imagine for a moment what it would be like if Americans treated cancer in a different way than we do now. Imagine that instead of encouraging people to quit smoking and take other steps to prevent cancer, we just sort of crossed our fingers. Instead of telling people they need to…
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Mental health issues at the state capitol: we’re working together to improve lives
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Two years ago this summer, our public policy team here at Mental Health America of Colorado sent out surveys to about 130 candidates for the state legislature. We asked them 10 questions about reducing the stigma associated with mental health, insurance coverage, the criminal justice system, and improving social determinants of mental health. Responses to…
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Updating Colorado’s civil commitment laws is an important, and long overdue, step
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One of the many valuable things about an organization as long-lived and venerable as Mental Health America of Colorado is the historical and often personal context we bring to discussions on a wide range of issues. Our perspective is not just a sterile record of laws and budgets, but the living history of people who…
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60 years of partnering for mental health in Colorado
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In 1953 a diverse group of concerned Coloradans, among them a Denver city attorney, a Greeley professor and a Pueblo psychiatrist, banded together to change their state for the better. These men and women were the parents and siblings of people who were forced into the shadows of society because they had been diagnosed with…
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Dispelling myths about mental health is important — but it’s just the beginning
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The terms mental health and mental illness are used often by the press and in other media. For most people those terms conjure a mix of different images and ideas. For some of us, the words are associated with intense feelings and personal experiences. Unfortunately, many people associate incorrect and hurtful ideas with mental health.…
