Our community invests in prevention strategies and addresses conditions in which community members of all ages and identities live, work, and play to foster community resilience and mental well-being.
Strategies & Solutions
Strategy: Community-Wide Prevention Strategy
Solution:
- Develop a shared community-wide prevention approach which promotes belonging, purpose, mental wellbeing, resilience, protective factors, and addresses risk factors at the individual, family, system, community, and policy level for mental and behavioral health. This prevention approach would be co-created with diverse community and partners and include culturally relevant approaches, community-informed practices, and best practices. It would also build upon existing efforts. (Also a Youth Solution)
Strategy: Community Education & Stigma Reduction
Solution:
- Provide coordinated community-wide education and stigma reduction efforts related to mental and behavioral health to include media campaigns, trainings, and skill-building with messages and offerings that are accessible, culturally appropriate, customized to varying audiences, trauma-informed, include a wide range of topics, and include community in development.
Youth Solutions:
- All Boulder County children and youth grades preK-12 have consistent, frequent social-emotional learning infused into the curriculum on topics such as communication, problem-solving, conflict resolution, stress reduction, identifying feelings, and emotional regulation.
- Provide expanded education and skill-building for adults and caregivers to better support and understand youth and children.
Strategy: Prosocial Activities
Solution:
- Provide accessible opportunities for social connection, community-building, cultural awareness and connection for the full community recognizing the diversity of the community.
Youth Solutions:
- Provide a broad range of free or low-cost prosocial activities for teens and youth that build connection, purpose, cultural connection, joy, and fun.
- Offer accessible support groups and opportunities for shared learning in small group settings for youth, parents, families, and the broader community.
Strategy: Addressing Social Determinants of Health
Solutions:
- Engage in focused and coordinated efforts to improve the social determinants of health, or the conditions in which we live, work, and play, that impact mental health and wellbeing and can prevent poor mental health.
- Consistently employ Housing First models and offer long-term, supportive, trauma-informed housing programs. Provide a variety of housing options and levels of support with the ability to match people to appropriate resources and transition between services as needs change.
Strategy: Policy
Solutions:
- Develop a shared policy agenda to advocate for policy changes, including organizational policies, that address the underlying challenges impacting access to mental and behavioral health support and community conditions for mental wellbeing Boulder County community members experience.
- Support local solutions and advocate for policy to increase private providers who accept Medicaid, insurance reform, a broader range of covered services through insurance to support behavioral health needs, and quality of services.
Solution from Youth Process:
- Build support and advocate for policies to address community norms and policies favorable to substance use to reduce risk and prevent youth substance use.
Strategy: Built Environment and Spaces for Connection
Solution:
- Create, supplement, or support opportunities to share space and co-locate resources in County, schools, or other spaces to expand ability to provide accessible resources, allow partners to facilitate programs, and reduce administrative costs.
Youth Solutions:
- Create additional free teen spaces or youth centers where teens can connect and explore prosocial opportunities with the support of positive adults.
- Provide access to safe, clean, and youth-friendly natural spaces and parks throughout Boulder County municipalities and unincorporated spaces with sufficient amenities such as drinking water and trash receptacles.
Strategy: Prevent Childhood Trauma
Solution:
- Expand efforts to prevent childhood trauma or adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and increase protective factors using best practices and grounded in racial and health equity.
Strategy: Engage Youth as Partners
Youth Solution:
- Engage youth as partners to understand their needs and interests and co-create prevention initiatives with their leadership.