DENVER (KDVR) — Neighbors in Northglenn voiced concerns this week about a mental health facility coming to their community, one of more than a dozen planned in Colorado. Only.
Lawmakers passed a bill in 2022 to increase behavioral health residential facilities. The so-called “Mental Health Transitional Living Home” aims to help people over the age of 18 with severe mental health conditions transition from hospital to independent living in the community.
According to the Colorado Department of Human Services, “clients may stay as long as necessary for stabilization, with the ultimate goal of successfully reintegrating the client into the community.” “The focus is to provide ongoing support for the development of social and life skills, as well as assistance with other activities of daily living, based on the client’s individual needs.”
The Colorado Department of Civil Forensic and Mental Health will administer the program, which will divide families into two levels of care.
Level 1 homes are for people who are almost ready to live independently, but who may need additional assistance with daily living. Level 2 homes are for people who need more care and include an intensive case manager and on-site psychiatric care.
More information about the program, including how to enroll, can be found on the Colorado Department of Human Services website.
Mental health transitional housing planned for Colorado
According to the state, the locations where housing is planned are:
- Colorado Springs: three houses
- Denver: two houses
- Lakewood: three houses
- Littleton: one house
- Northglen: two houses
- Pueblo West: two houses
Some of the facilities are already open, and the rest are scheduled to open gradually in 2024, the agency said. The state will operate 24 beds at three residences in Westminster and Pueblo, while other beds will be contracted out.
The program was created to address the backlog of needed care in state hospitals, so in its initial rollout, admissions will be limited to referrals from Colorado’s state psychiatric hospitals.
“Although it is a long-term goal to allow facilities to accept patients from the community, the primary goal is to displace people who are waiting for appropriate community-based resources and to to reduce waiting lists,” the state Department of Human Services announced.
