BRIDGING THE MENTAL HEALTH GAP

BY GIFF WALTERS DESIGNED BY CMU VISUAL ARTS STUDENT BRAYDON SONDROL

CMU addresses workforce needs by training students in advanced social work degrees at little or no cost to them

Access to mental health services are limited in many areas of the world, and western Colorado is no different.

“ There is a huge gap in terms of the mental health needs of our community and how they are being met,” said Associate Professor of Social Work and Director of the Master of Social Work Program Michelle Sunkel, PhD. “Our psychiatric hospital is almost always full so if someone needs a high level of treatment, we are often sending them to Denver. If someone is acutely psychotic, suicidal or gravely disabled they could end up five to six hours away from treatment.”

Because one can only stay in a hospital for three to five days, the patient then needs to be transported back to Grand Junction where waitlists mean it can be three to six months before a patient can receive the therapy and psychiatric medication they need.

“We don’t have enough providers, we don’t have enough clinicians and we don’t have enough places for people to go for high level stabilization,” Sunkel explained.

To address the gap between current mental health service availability in the Grand Valley and the services that are needed, CMU is utilizing a state funded behavioral health grant that provides tuition assistance for eligible students working towards a bachelor’s or master’s degree in social work.

Funding has been secured for a total of four years and funds were first distributed in Fall 2022. To be eligible a student must either qualify for Pell Grants, live at a Qualified Census Tract address or provide documentation of economic hardship. For those that qualify, their tuition is nearly, or entirely, covered by the grant.

Abigail Bollinger graduated this spring with her Bachelor of

Social Work degree. She is a recipient of this grant and will enroll in the master’s program this fall. Bollinger shared that she has always been passionate about serving others and she was drawn to social work because it “acknowledges how truly complex people and their situations are.” She explained that she chose to move forward with an advanced degree after the Grand Junction Police Department Co-Responder Unit came and did a presentation in one of her classes.

“I have been very interested in the criminal justice system and it solidified that everything I am passionate about doing in social work will require a master’s degree,” said Bollinger. “During my practicum it also became apparent that there is a huge lack of clinicians. I would like to contribute to filling that gap.”

Thanks to the behavioral health grant, Bollinger and others in the program are on their way to making our community more resilient. •

The second annual Maverick Days celebration last April was a whirlwind of events and included two new alumni awards for people in the community that exemplify Colorado Mesa University’s value of love — a value the university defines as extending oneself for nurturing the growth of self and others.

CMU Director of Alumni Relations Jared Meier explained the new annual tradition of Maverick Days was created after the Homecoming festivities of 2020 were moved to the spring the following year due to COVID-19.

“After witnessing the strong interest in spring events, we started Maverick Days in April 2022 and anchored it around CMU’s birthday on April 10,” Meier said.

This year’s festivities kicked off with the Maverick Stampede Rodeo and Alumni Night Parade, and the first weekend included beach volleyball, tennis and the Associated Student Government’s 10th Annual Maverick Awards Ceremony. During the week, alumni attended a spin class for scholarships, a silent disco, the Maverick Days 5K, a spin class that raised money for scholarships, a CMU track meet and the opening night of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The final weekend featured baseball and softball games (including an Alumni Zone) and the Spring Concert featuring Bryce Vine, BabyJake and CMU’s own Kid Caravan.

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