“Colorado has one of the highest rates of suicide in the country,” begins Vincent Atchity, CEO of Mental Health Colorado. “Our children’s hospitals declared a state of emergency for young people’s mental health and we have been ranked dead last in the nation for access to care.”
Thankfully, Vincent Atchity is doing something about it. He started a program called, “What’s Your Peace?”
“You know being out in nature, and getting physical activity and spending time with pets especially with dogs all of those kind of things feature largely as practices that Coloradans find supportive of their well being and how they find peace amongst themselves,” continues Atchity.
A 2021 Colorado Health Survey revealed 38% of Coloradans over the age of 16 experience a decline in mental health such as anxiety, depression or loneliness as a result of COVID-19.
Vincent agrees while the pandemic plays a big role, it’s not all to blame.
“We’ve seen you know wildfires and concerns about the climate crisis and you know slowness to act in response to the climate crisis,” says Atchity.
With so many stressors going on around us, Atchity and Mental Health Colorado hope the campaign, “What’s Your Peace” will help Coloradans look towards the calm within us. By submitting photos to Mental Health Colorado’s Campaign, Vincent says we are creating a richer and more diverse picture of how Coloradans truly can “find their peace”.