BCH Foundation starts campaign to raise $2M for mental-health endowment

BOULDER — The Boulder Community Health Foundation on Saturday launched a campaign to raise $2 million by the end of 2018 to support mental-health services.

The nonprofit foundation’s Mental Health Endowment fund will provide grants ranging from less than $100 to well into the thousands of dollars for services that include transitioning back to society, mental-illness treatment, health and wellness, and education.

For transitioning, funds will be used for crisis stabilization, assisted living, clothing and accessories, and transportation. For treatment, funds will be used for co-pay support, medicine management and group-therapy supplies. For health and wellness, funds will be used for integrative care, nutrition support and staff well-being. For education, funds will be used for online navigation resources, community programs and ongoing education for Boulder Community Health caregivers.

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“Mental health challenges impact individuals from all walks of life,” Grant Besser, president of the Boulder Community Health Foundation, said in a prepared statement. “Mental health needs in our community are growing while public resources are dwindling.”

Amy Batchelor, a BCH Foundation board member and donor, said the endowment “will play a vital role in improving the overall well-being of our community.”

The foundation’s statement announcing the fund said that Colorado has the seventh-highest suicide rate in the nation. It said that each year in Colorado, about 260,000 adults and children need treatment for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression and serious emotional disturbances, and that tens of thousands don’t have access to mental-health care.