Our community has an estimated 6,500 individuals with serious mental illness, and 25% of the population and 43% of the adolescent population have some type of mental illness. Each year, approximately 35 people die of suicide in Fort Collins, and the mortality rate is higher than the state average. There remains significant stigma surrounding mental illness, many common mental illnesses are widely misunderstood, and many suffering from such illnesses go undiagnosed and untreated. Fewer than 60% of those with serious mental illness seek treatment. According to the 2014 Fort Collins Social Sustainability Gaps Analysis, “Untreated serious mental illness has both personal and social costs, including unemployment, disability, risk of suicide, substance use disorders, homelessness, and can strain law enforcement and emergency response services.”

The Library District and the Human Relations Commission partnered with Touchstone Health Partners, Alliance for Suicide Prevention, the local chapter of the National Alliance for the MentalIy Ill (NAMI), the school district, the police department, and numerous other organizations, to bring together expert speakers and community members for an 18 month long series of bimonthly forums on mental health. The Library District coordinated events with the Human Relations Commission and provided facilities, promoted the events through its marketing channels including web page, calendars, posters, and social media, and provided information about resources available through our libraries at each session.

The forum series, which concludes in July, has achieved or made significant progress towards the following outcomes: promote inclusivity, help remove stigma related to mental health, promote community awareness of local mental health issues and impacts, increase the knowledge base of non-specialists and collaborate with other community organizations (Touchstone health Partners, Alliance for Suicide Prevention, NAMI, Poudre School District and others.) In addition, the HRC’s work complemented similar “community conversations” in various cities throughout Colorado as well as the initiatives sponsored by the White House about mental health in 2013. Hundreds of community members have attended the sessions during the past year, and we plan to build upon the success of this partnered series to offer additional community conversations, in particular about homelessness in 2015.