Colorado is a state that takes pride in its quality of life – our mountains, outdoor culture and thriving communities. But there is a quieter crisis that has been building in Southwest Colorado and across our state, and it’s one that deserves to be front and center in the race to become our next governor.
The next governor of Colorado must make addressing the youth mental health crisis in Colorado a top priority. More than one in seven young Coloradans reported poor mental health in 2025. Among high school students, 26% reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness. Among middle school students, the figure was 24%. Suicide remains a leading cause of death for Colorado youths younger than 18, and the state ranks in the bottom half of states for youth mental health.
Here in La Plata County and across the Western Slope, the numbers hit closer to home. In rural parts of Colorado, rates of suicide among young people ages 10 to 24 were 35% higher than the state average in 2023. Rural communities continue to face severe mental health workforce shortages, longer wait times and fewer options for care. Too many families in communities like ours are left driving hours for an appointment, or worse, getting no appointment at all.
That’s why a coalition led by Children’s Hospital Colorado and Healthier Colorado, and including nearly 70 healthcare providers, educators, advocates and community organizations like Team Up here in Southwest Colorado, has launched Mind Our Future Colorado – a statewide initiative calling on every candidate running for governor to make youth mental health a defining commitment of their campaign and their time in office.
Drawing on input from youths, families, educators, community leaders and practitioners from rural and urban Colorado – including right here in Southwest Colorado – Children’s Hospital Colorado and Healthier Colorado have built a playbook that charts sustainable, innovative strategies achievable within a governor’s term. The Child and Youth Mental Health Policy Playbook lays out foundational areas of action the next governor can take to address the youth mental health crisis, including reaching every family that needs support, fixing the bureaucracy with greater accountability and empowering young Coloradans to navigate a digital world.
This is not a partisan issue. Ninety percent of Colorado voters across party lines agree that our state faces a youth mental health crisis. The question is not whether action is needed. It is whether our next governor will lead this effort.
Children don’t have a vote, but we do. Whoever wins the governor’s race this November will inherit both a crisis and an opportunity to lead a state that prioritizes kids’ mental health. Colorado takes pride in being a great place to live. It’s time we made that promise real for every child growing up in Southwest Colorado.
Lynn Urban is president and CEO of Team Up in Durango, a local nonprofit that supports organizations and individuals in addressing community-identified needs.
