By Laura R. Gabbay
Although it’s the dark of winter, here’s a bright spot for kids who may be struggling: I Matter Colorado.
The winter vacation season can be stressful. Winter vacation is also a period when students do not have the support of school services. You can make a difference by making sure the kids in your community know about the new, free I Matter Colorado program. In October, the Colorado Department of Human Services and the Office of Behavioral Health launched I Matter, a program that offers free counseling sessions to all young people in Colorado.
Youth and their parents can visit the I Matter platform to complete a confidential online survey about their mental health and schedule sessions with a licensed behavioral health clinician, primarily through telehealth. All Colorado people aged 18 or under – or 21 and under if receiving special education services – are eligible to receive free services. Over 1,450 counseling appointments have been scheduled or offered since the start of the program. The growing list of participating I Matter therapists includes 77 clinicians.
To facilitate services in English and Spanish, the Spanish version of the I Matter site has been launched. The URL is YoImportoColorado.org
The program has clinicians who can also provide services in Spanish.
Informed by feedback from young people across the state, the name of the I Matter program says – at a time when we are often told to care about others more than ourselves – self-care can and should be a priority. An easy way to share news on how Colorado kids can access these three free mental health sessions is to share the social media graphics in our new digital toolkit. Another great way to promote awareness is to send us a photo of your new colorful I Matter banner (upload it here) if you have it hung in your school or community center. Email your banner photos to [email protected]
Laura R. Gabbay is Marketing and Outreach Manager at the Rocky Mountain Health Foundation.
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