DENVER—Lack of health insurance, money, transportation and knowledge of the services available are among the reasons American Indians in the Denver area aren’t getting the mental health care they need, a nonprofit agency says in a new study.
The study for the Denver Indian Family Resource Center questioned more than 700 youths and adults in the seven-county Denver metro area over nine months last year and this year.
The study, by JVA Consulting of Denver, will be used in a three-year federal grant aimed at developing solutions.
More than 27,000 American Indians with nearly 60 tribal affiliations live in the Denver area, according to the Lakewood-based resource center.
Nearly a third of the respondents said they couldn’t afford care because they didn’t have insurance or Medicaid was too cumbersome or didn’t cover what they needed.
“Through our work, we’ve identified the needs for mental health services and we’ve realized the resources that exist are not actually accessible to the people we serve,” said Phyllis Bigpond, director of the Denver Indian Family Resource Center.
The study said the results revealed the need for public education to ease families’ fears of having children removed from the home if they seek help, or being stigmatized.
The results of the assessment also revealed problems with racism, suicide and disproportionately high rates of alcohol, drug abuse and depression.
“Really, there aren’t enough services for anybody, but it becomes even more difficult for populations that deal with other factors, particularly cultural sensitivity,” Bigpond said.
Suggestions included offering services in centralized locations, better cooperation among agencies and school-based services to reach the largest number of people.
The resource center is one of 12 nonprofits and education agencies recently awarded grants from The Colorado Trust foundation. The groups will receive grants averaging $60,000 annually for five years.
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