DENVER – With suicide the leading cause of death for Coloradans ages 10 to 24, Ent Credit Union said it is donating $1.2-million over the next three years to Children’s Hospital Colorado to support mental health services in the hospital’s care network across the state.
To commemorate the partnership, Ent presented Children’s with a $1.2 million symbolic check and an actual check for $150,035 raised during its recent debit card campaign. Throughout December 2019, Ent pledged to members it would donate two cents for every debit card transaction they made.
“We specifically chose December because we knew our members would be out holiday shopping,” said Mollie Bell, Ent chief development officer. “This campaign really touched our members’ hearts. In addition to using their cards, one member was so moved by the campaign he came in to personally contribute to Children’s Colorado.”
Colorado’s suicide rate is among the nation’s 10 highest.
‘Families Are Struggling’
“Families throughout the state are struggling to get the help they need – and losing their children to suicide,” continued Bell. “As an organization, we haven’t seen one crisis have such a fatal impact in every community we support and serve. It’s an epidemic that’s hurting all of us. It’s a tragedy for too many of our families, members, employees and neighbors.”
According to Ent, over the past decade Children’s Colorado has seen a 600% increase in admissions of children who have attempted suicide. Currently, it’s estimated that only 21% of the approximately 226,000 kids and teens in Colorado with diagnosable mental health conditions are receiving treatment.
“Colorado kids and families deserve access to the highest quality care for mental health challenges,” said Shannon Van Deman, vice president of the Pediatric Mental Health Institute at Children’s Hospital Colorado and executive director of Partners for Children’s Mental Health. “They currently face barrier after barrier. We need a system-wide change in our state. This involves uniting and aligning all of the mental health initiatives across Colorado to make the biggest impact for kids.”
Coordinated Referrals
To overcome these gaps, Ent’s partnership with Children’s Colorado will help fund multiple mental health initiatives, including the Pediatric Mental Health Institute (PMHI) and Partners for Children’s Mental Health (PCMH). PCMH, Colorado’s first Center of Excellence for pediatric mental health, brings together pediatric experts and stakeholders across Colorado.
This coordinated referral and treatment approach is designed to help kids and families more easily access best-in-class mental health care, so mental health challenges don’t escalate into emergencies, Ent said.
“As Colorado’s leading credit union, we’re committed to improving our members’ financial quality of life. But when families are doing all they can just to get their child into life-saving treatment, their focus on finances can suffer,” Bell said. “Supporting families’ mental health ultimately supports their financial health.”