| The Colorado Trust’s grantmaking helps to provide a healthy start in the first years of life; keep kids safe, healthy and engaged as they grow; ensure quality health care; and make Colorado a place where all people can thrive.Together with individuals, groups and communities across the state, we focus on health in the broadest sense. In addition to physical and mental health care, we also address family, community and social needs to help people lead healthy, productive lives. |
Making Colorado a place where all people can thrive.
The Trust supports an array of efforts to make life better for individuals and groups in communities across the state. In 2006, we began the Healthy Aging Initiative to help senior-serving organizations increase their ability to meet the needs of seniors, such as housing, transportation and ways to stay healthy and active.
The Colorado Demography Office estimates that the state’s older population will increase 51% from 2000 to 2012, while the remainder of the population will grow by 19%.
Nine additional communities joined our Supporting Immigrant and Refugee Families initiative last year. Through this effort, immigrants and established residents work together in 19 Colorado communities to help integrate immigrants and build healthy communities.
Initial efforts by participating communities helped immigrant parents to become more involved in their children’s schools, improve access  to English classes and develop mentoring opportunities among foreign and native-born families.
A new report was released in 2006, The Role of Municipal Leaders in Helping Immigrants Become an Integral Part of Colorado’s Communities.
 Grantee Story: Supporting Immigrant and Refugee Families
“Columbine changed this community,” says Bebe Kleinman, Executive Director of Doctors Care in Littleton, Colorado. “Littleton’s leaders realized they had to do business differently.” One response is an effort to strengthen the community through the immigrant integration initiative. See story...
The Trust continued its long-time support of Preventing Suicide in Colorado to address the high incidence of suicide in the Rocky Mountain region.
Through this initiative, over 1,000 individuals across Colorado are now “gatekeepers”; gatekeeper instruction trains people to recognize those contemplating suicide and refer them to professionals who can provide help.
Grantee Story: Preventing Suicide in Colorado
Sarah Owl Denetsosie is a member of a small army of those dedicated to preventing the tragedy of suicide on the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation. See story...
In partnership with the Caring for Colorado Foundation, The Colorado Health Foundation and The Denver Foundation, The Colorado Trust supports the Advancing Colorado’s Mental Health Care program to better meet the needs of Coloradans with severe mental illnesses.
 One Coloradan in five needs mental health treatment, but only one-third of those who need treatment receive it.
In 2006, we also supported the first-ever Colorado Summit on Mental Health Disparities and produced a Policy Brief.
Additionally, The Colorado Trust joined in support of Denver’s Road Home, a 10-year plan to end homelessness, and made grants to help provide services to victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita who relocated to Colorado.
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