A Guide to Colorado’s Mental Health Month
A guide to the organizations and events tackling Colorado’s mental health challenges ‘head’ on.
Ready to get your Mental Health Month on? We’ve assembled a list of leading organizations and events to fill every day of the month with opportunities to meet others and engage in Mental Health Month, Colorado style.
Colorado makes the top 10 for a lot of state rankings. From our economy (#1), to our general health (#9), to our quality of life (#10). Unfortunately, we’re also in the top 10 for suicide rates (#9). Our two largest cities, Denver and Colorado Springs hold the 8th and 2nd highest rates respectively. We rank 30th and below in mental health funding, inpatient beds, and prevalence.
The picture can look pretty bleak, but sometimes it takes statistics like these to show just how important it is to find a solution. It certainly fuels the organizations on our list. We divided them between three categories:
New and Innovative
Treatment and Support
- Aurora Mental Health Center
- Mental Health Center of Denver
- Mental Health First Aid Colorado
- My Quiet Cave
- Denver Human Services
- Helen and Arthur E JohnsoDepression Center
Policy and Advocacy
- Suicide Prevention Coalition of Colorado
- Colorado Mental Wellness Network
- Mental Health Colorado
- NAMI Colorado
New and Innovative
Open Labs (events)
The Open Weekend is a biannual event that brings together tech and startup employees living with brain conditions (mental illnesses), companies making a difference in brain health, and community leaders who speak about what it means to live, work, and thrive with a brain condition.
Open Weekend
The Brain Crawl
May 18th | Boulder, CO
Experiment Day, an Alternative Hackathon
May 19th | Boulder, CO
Community Day
May 20th | Boulder, CO
The Innovators Society (events)
The Innovators Society, a program of Community First Foundation, invests in promising, but not yet proven, nonprofit innovations to increase awareness and change perceptions of mental health. We engage a network of committed nonprofit innovators, community leaders and community investors to accelerate new solutions for mental wellness.
Save the Date: The Community Pitch Showdown
June 5th | Arvada, CO
Health Links (events)
Health Links™ got its start right here in Colorado as a signature program of the Center for Health, Work & Environment at the Colorado School of Public Health. We collaborate with employers across the state to build a culture of health and safety in the workplace.
Health Links™ Workshop: Brain Health Over Breakfast
May 31st | Frisco, CO
Project Helping (events)
Helping organizes volunteer events specifically designed to make an impact — both on you and your community. Through volunteering, participants actively invest in their communities while also reaping the benefits of increased mental wellness. We create and practice kindfulness!
Serve Dinner to Children in Need
May 8th | Denver, CO
National Mental Health Innovation Center
Mission: To find, develop and put into practice big new ideas to prevent, treat and change the way people think about mental illness.
Vision: A world where mental health is as valued as physical health, prevention and early care are the norm, and quality treatment is accessible in every community. And stigma? That’s a thing of the past.
Treatment and Support
Aurora Mental Health Center (events)
Aurora Mental Health Center is committed to creating healthy and secure communities by providing the least restrictive service that ensures quality, appropriate, and efficient care.
Classes in Yoga, Tae Kwon Do, Acupuncture, and Jewelry Making
Daily | Aurora, CO
Mental Health Center of Denver (events)
The Mental Health Center of Denver is a place for recovery, resilience and well-being, known locally and nationally as a model for innovative and effective community behavioral healthcare.
Campus Tours
Tuesdays | Denver, CO
Trauma Informed Yoga
Saturdays | Denver, CO
Mental Health First Aid Colorado (events)
Mental Health First Aid Colorado promotes and supports mental health education and wellness for Coloradans.In a Mental Health First Aid course, you will learn signs and symptoms of a mental health challenge or crisis, what to do in an emergency, and where to get help.
MHFA Training
Daily | Statewide
My Quiet Cave (event)
We create space to heal in Overcome, a 9 week group study for those affected by mental illness or mental disorder. We create space for community in Cave Groups, ongoing support groups for those affected by mental illness or mental disorder. We create space to learn in workshops for faith leaders in the Denver area about mental health issues.
Mental Health Lunch and Learn for Faith Leaders
May 15th | Arvada, CO
Denver Human Services (event)
Youth Mental Health First Aid USA is an eight-hour public education program which introduces participants to the unique risk factors and warning signs of mental health problems in adolescents, emphasizes the importance of early intervention, and teaches individuals how to help an adolescent in crisis or experiencing a mental health challenge.
Youth Mental Health First Aid Training — R.I.S.E. Network
May 31st | Denver, CO
The Colorado Depression Center
The Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Depression Center is dedicated to helping patients and families by providing transformative treatment of depressive illnesses and related mood disorders. As part of the National Network of Depression Centers, the Johnson Depression Center’s innovative team-based and integrated care models are revolutionizing the mental and behavioral health landscape.
Policy and Advocacy
Suicide Prevention Coalition of Colorado (event)
The Suicide Prevention Coalition of Colorado (SPCC) was formed in 1999, when concerned citizens set out to create a statewide agency with the purpose of preventing suicide and creating a resource network for those who were working to prevent suicide around the state. Today, SPCC’s membership of concerned agencies, organizations and individuals who are working in the areas of suicide prevention, intervention and postvention has statewide reach.
Bridging the Divide Suicide Prevention and Awareness Summit 2018
May 17th & 18th | Denver,CO
Colorado Mental Wellness Network (event)
We are a state-wide, grassroots, peer-run organization that seeks to provide opportunities for individuals to improve the quality of their lives, give back to their communities, and change public perceptions of mental illness.
Zumbathon: Shimmy From Stigma
May 12th | Littleton, CO
Mental Health Colorado (events)
Mental Health Colorado is the state’s leading advocate for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of mental health and substance use disorders. We are a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization and an affiliate of Mental Health America.
Mental Health Month Declaration
May 1st | Denver, CO
The Rosenberry conference: Trends in Youth Suicide
May 4th | Aurora, CO
The State of Mental Health
May 6th | Cherry Hills, CO
May 6th | Arvada, CO
May 22nd | Denver, CO
Sharing Stories Colorado
May 10th | Denver, CO
Lift The Label Campaign Launch
May 14th | Denver, CO
If We Talked About Mental Health Like We Do Physical Health
May 23rd | Denver, CO
National Alliance on Mental Illness Colorado (events)
NAMI Colorado is located in Metro Denver. We serve an extended community throughout the State of Colorado. Our staff is experienced in helping get you the information and in touch with the right contacts. Our focus is to connect, educate, and support the mental health issues and needs of today. NAMI Colorado has 15 local affiliate organizations across the state.
NAMI Walks
May 19th | Centennial, CO
Miscellaneous
Natural Grocers (event)
Our in-store Nutritional Health Coach is teaming up with Dr. Matt Pennetti to teach you tips and tricks for supporting memory. While age-related cognitive decline might seem inevitable, it doesn’t have to be! The formula for supporting your brain and memory is simple. Discover how good nutrition and healthy habits can support your memory throughout your lifespan.
Boost Your Brain Seminar
May 5th | Denver, CO
When The Bough Breaks (event)
When The Bough Breaks is a documentary about postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis. Narrated and Executive Produced by Brooke Shields, this shocking film uncovers this very public health issue which affects 1 in 5 new mothers after childbirth.
Documentary Screening
May 3rd | Denver, CO
Lance Powers in a co-founder of Open Labs, a member-led community bringing together people with brain conditions to create actionable programming and meaningful conversations on mental health — at work and in life.
Together, along with community allies here in Colorado, we can create a more hopeful, open world. For more information please visit openlabs.world or reach out at contact@openlabs.world or join us at the Open Weekend.
