‘Caring For Denver’ Cares For All of Us

Caring for Denver is a nonprofit foundation dedicated to tackling Denver’s mental health and substance misuse challenges, led by Executive Director Lorez Meinhold, a finalist for 9NEWS Leader of the Year. They are also the proud recipients of the 2024 Lean on Me Award from Envision:You. 

Caring For Denver is a non-profit organization that is funded by Denver, for Denver. It is the result of a ballot initiative from 2019 that ruled that for every $100 spent in Denver, 25 cents would go to addressing mental health issues and substance misuse within the city. 

In the last five years, Caring For Denver has granted over $154 million to address these issues, and 71% of grantees reported reduced substance misuse, as well as 76%, who reported improved mental health. They focus on creating alternatives to jail, community-centered solutions, community-centered care, and care for youth. 

Looking past the numbers, it is clear that Caring For Denver values community input and perspectives. They fund and have funded 240 local organizations and continuously elevate the stories of community members on their website. “We’ve been very fortunate to have the community walk beside us, and give us their expertise, their trust, their knowledge, to build and co-create Caring for Denver together,” says Executive Director and Co-Founder Lorez Meinhold. 

According to Brad Barfield (they/he), Envision:You Vice President, “We are thrilled to honor the recipient of our 2024 organizational Lean on Me Award: the Caring for Denver Foundation! Since its inception, Caring for Denver has been a steadfast ally in supporting the mental health of Denver’s LGBTQ+ community. Founded and funded by and for Denver residents, they’ve transformed our community’s compassion into tangible action, addressing mental health and substance misuse needs with dedication and care. Congratulations to Lorez Meinhold and her incredible team for the well-deserved recognition.”

The true emphasis of Caring For Denver is its community impact and telling the stories of our community in Denver. “It only has meaning if it has meaning to the community,” Meinhold explains. The actions of this organization directly impact diverse, marginalized communities that are experiencing these mental health and substance misuse problems, as they often feel less comfortable asking for or accessing help for these issues. 

“All the stories we heard as we were getting signatures for this were about how people struggled to find care: whether it was care that fit for them, fit their culture, their identity, their place, or it was hard to find care that was accessible, or that was inclusive. And so Caring For Denver was really created to meet those needs,” explains Meinhold.

Meinhold herself has an extensive background in advocacy and mental health work. Before her position at Caring For Denver, she worked in community organizing and policy work, for two governors, and was deputy director at Medicaid. “I have really centered health and health access at the center of everything that I’ve done,” she explains. “I’m really focused on what I’m passionate about, in that as long as you put passion at the center of your work, then you do great things.”

And Meinhold has certainly done great things with Caring For Denver. She and Rep. Leslie Herod originally worked together at the governor’s office. And after Meinhold did a substance misuse needs assessment for the state, Rep.Herod had the idea to create a sales tax for mental health and substance misuse treatment. Meinhold was able to help write the proposal, campaign with Rep. Herod, and eventually start the non-profit that is now Caring For Denver. 

Meinhold emphasizes the importance of mental health care for marginalized groups, particularly LGBTQ+ people, due to the higher percentage of LGBTQ+ people who struggle with mental health and do not seek help for it as they often feel unsafe in these mental health spaces. “Just in our own community, we know that there are higher rates of suicide and violence within our LGBTQ community, and how do we really address some of the shame that has been created in our community,” Meinhold explains. “And so we need to create those safe spaces so people feel seen, especially as we see more laws being passed in other states” and as “we have a lot of people coming to our communities where they’re looking for effective and affirming treatment.” 

Colorado continues to be one of the few states where trans people continue to have their rights protected under the law. Families with trans kids are traveling to Colorado so they have continued access to trans healthcare, and Caring For Denver is doing its best to ensure that this healthcare is accessible to all in Denver. 

Some recent projects of Caring For Denver that exemplify their mission goals include Sun Valley Youth Center, Sobriety House Inc., the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN), and Project Pave. 

Sun Valley Youth Center is one of their work for youth care. Caring For Denver has funded this after-school program in Denver’s Sun Valley neighborhood where they employ a trauma-informed, attachment-based caregiving model to help transform the lives of at-risk youth. 

Sobriety House Inc. is an example of its work towards reducing substance misuse and is Colorado’s oldest licensed substance abuse treatment center. RMIAN is a program that supports immigrants, and Caring For Denver helps fund the program’s mental health access to immigrants undergoing legal representation—This work emphasizes Caring for Denver’s focus on marginalized communities and providing mental health support for such communities. Lastly, Project Pave utilizes evidence-based, culturally responsive mental health services and programs to support youth survivors of violence and their families, yet another example of Caring For Denver’s commitment to youth and mental health care. 

Due to Lorez Meinhold and Caring For Denver’s dedication to their mission and the Denver community, more and more Denver community members are able to access the help that they need. To learn more about Caring For Denver and their impact throughout the city of Denver, go to their website at caring4denver.org.