Envision:You Rises to the Challenges of a Tough Climate

We at OFM will never not sing the praises of Envision:You. This Colorado-based nonprofit continues to fight to protect queer mental health through its advocacy, community programming, and public awareness campaigns. As we move into the end of this election cycle and the beginning of the holiday season, now is a particularly important time to focus on mental health.

OFM sat down with Envision:You Vice President Brad Barfield (they/he) to discuss immediate concerns facing LGBTQ+ individuals and Envision:You’s plans to continue serving our community.

In your opinion, what is the biggest barrier to entry for queer people when it comes to mental health support?

The biggest barrier is access. We have a behavioral health workforce shortage in Colorado. We’ve known that for a really long time. For people in general, even folks with a lot of privilege and power, it’s really challenging to find a provider that, one, is taking new clients; two, is affordable; and three, are available. There are multiple counties in Colorado that do not have a behavioral health professional in the area. It’s particularly hard, I think, for people with systemically impacted identities, whether that’s queer people, people of color, or folks with disabilities.

How does Envision:You hope to expand in the next five years?

There are a few different ways we think about how to scale what we’re currently doing. Part of that is just about geographic reach. We have been primarily focusing all of our attention on the state of Colorado. We’re going to continue to do that, but we also know that there are states that surround us, but also all over the country, that have much more hostile legislation. Colorado is not perfect, but we have a legislature and political leaders who understand the value of what it means to keep LGBTQ+ people safe, healthy, and involved. That really just isn’t the case in a lot of other places. We’ve talked with organizations at a national level who are interested in seeing what expansion could look like.

The other thing in terms of expansion is just thinking about how we’re interacting with community. What we love to see for a program like (Q is for Questioning) is to get connected with more organizations. For instance, connecting with more folks that work in the foster care environment, law enforcement, juvenile detention facilities, and court-appointed special advocates. There are so many people who touch the lives of LGBTQ+ youth on an ongoing basis.

What is Envision:You doing to make intersectional spaces for the Colorado community specifically?

One of the things that we’re consistently thinking about from the policy space is the workforce. We have to think about how the barriers put in place are minimizing our ability to improve diversity (in behavioral health). Part of this is really thinking about the entire continuum of the whole experience of the provider, the entire experience of the client, and the entire experience of the community those folks live

We need more people in the community in those rooms so that we’re not creating policy decisions in this ivory tower. We’ve had three to four workshops already just this year where we get folks in a room and help them understand the legislative process, how to create testimony, and how to get into the rooms in person, or virtual, so the people making the decisions really understand how it affects the folks who are going to be directly impacted.

In the Envision:You 2023 report, it was stated that less than two dimes for every $100 donate, go to LGBTQ nonprofits. On top of that, what other challenges exist for LGBTQ+ focused nonprofits?

From a lot of people’s perspectives, including people who are in the LGBTQ+ community, it feels like everything has gotten a lot better over the past 20 years. But it really hasn’t. While there’s a whole lot more representation and a lot of general enthusiasm from the rest of the country in terms of where people’s rights should be, that doesn’t mean that the overall queer experience is better. There are very openly hostile things that are happening in states across the country. There’s not a place that is immune from the vitriol.

The 2024 election has seen a massive increase in anxiety, depression, etc. How can queer people manage their mental health during this time, and how is Envision:You helping?

How I am able to manage this is to find my people. We are so much stronger together, even if all we’re doing is holding space for each other to vent, or to weep, or to yell. Our community has so much strength, so much beauty, and so much power. Regardless of how this election goes, we have to continue to be there for one another. Find the folks who you can be safe with and hold on to them tightly. 

I do not want to delegitimize the fact that things are pretty rough right now. This world can be a very unkind place, but it can also be a place where you can experience so much joy and euphoria. We have been in times like these, and we have come out on the other end stronger. We have continued to band together. Continue to see in each other what we have in common, but also to be able to acknowledge the things that we do not share. When I see the queer community banding together, it actually gives me a lot of hope. This (message) is not just for queer people; it’s for anyone with a systemically impacted identity.

How far have we come for protecting queer mental health?

 I don’t even know if I realize how far we’ve come. The statistics would indicate that we’re actually not doing so great. One of the statistics from our State of the State report is that one out of two people that responded to the survey have seriously considered suicide at one point their lives. That’s half 50%. And then out of that, 25% of the entire study have attempted suicide. We do not feel like we’ve gotten there.

But when we are out of Pride festivals, when we are engaged with our community, people are so much more willing to talk about mental health. So many more people are aware of resources that exist around them. This next generation of folks, not just queer people, but people of color and women, are leading the charge here as they always have when it comes to spaces and social justice. There are so many queer leaders and leaders of color who are really shining a light on topics that have been consistently buried or pushed off to the side, like addiction and recovery, anxiety and depression, and what it means to be on the spectrum. What everyone can do is create more affirming, generative, and strength-based spaces, and I see that happening on the ground level.

Photo courtesy of Samantha Markey Photography