Mental Health Initiative
The Issue
Mountain and rural Colorado communities—particularly ski resort towns—face heightened mental health challenges. Isolation, limited access to care, easy access to firearms, economic and social pressures, substance use, and persistent stigma all contribute to elevated risk.
According to the Colorado Rural Health Center, one in five rural Coloradans reports experiencing depression. In 2024, 19 residents of Routt and Moffat counties died by suicide. The suicide rate was 75% higher than the state average in Routt County and 200% higher in Moffat County. Colorado’s statewide suicide rate ranks in the top third nationally.
Our Work
The Yampa Valley Community Foundation (YVCF) has long supported regional mental health organizations through grantmaking and technical assistance. In response to the growing crisis, YVCF has intensified its focus on collaborative, community-wide solutions.
Beginning in spring 2025, YVCF convened mental health providers and resource organizations to identify overlapping services and gaps in care. This work led to the creation of the HOPE Initiative (Helping Others through Peer Engagement)—a collaborative effort among regional mental health providers, community resource organizations, and YVCF.
Partners identified a critical gap in services for individuals who are not in immediate danger of suicide but are experiencing distress and need timely support. To address this need, the HOPE Initiative will fund a 24/7/365 peer-staffed hotline, providing compassionate listening, respite, resource navigation, and referrals.
YVCF has taken the lead fundraising role to support the creation of this innovative program. The HOPE Initiative Fund at YVCF will support a two-year pilot of the hotline. Funds will be distributed to The Health Partnership, who have taken the leadership role in launching, hosting, and managing the program in Routt and Moffat Counties.
YVCF is also collaborating with the Katz Amsterdam Foundation (KAF) and its network of mountain communities on the Shared Measurement Framework (SMF) Survey Data Dashboard Project, which aims to improve mental and behavioral health outcomes in Mountain West communities. In winter 2025, YVCF and local partners launched a community-wide Mental and Behavioral Health Survey to assess connection, quality of life, and mental health and alcohol-related needs. Survey findings—combined with provider-specific data, youth and prevention data, and mortality statistics—will be incorporated into the SMF Dashboard, creating a comprehensive view of prevention, treatment, and outcomes across eleven mountain resort communities.
Going forward, the Foundation will incorporate results of the SMF Survey to identify gaps in current mental and behavioral health services and to collaborate with local and regional partners to implement additional programming to strategically improve the well-being of our communities.
How to Get Involved
Are you passionate about supporting solutions for mental health in the Yampa Valley? Contributions to the HOPE Initiative Fund, which will support a local, pre-crisis hotline, are welcome and tax-deductible.
If you would like to learn more or get involved, contact Traci Hiatt, YVCF Director of Philanthropy, at traci@yvcf.org or call 970-879-8632.