‘A communitywide priority’: Yampa Valley Community Foundation supports mental health with survey in Routt, Moffat counties

In a region defined by active outdoor lifestyles and strong sense of community, increasing instances of mental and behavioral health challenges have become difficult to ignore.

As a result, the Yampa Valley Community Foundation has launched a mental and behavioral health survey for residents and workers in Routt and Moffat counties, with the objective of collecting clear data on mental health, substance use and quality of life.

The confidential survey, which is being conducted in partnership with the national research firm PRC and a coalition of local health and human service organizations, is intended to help guide future decisions about how mental health resources are developed, coordinated and managed in the area.

Both Routt and Moffat counties have experienced an increase in mental and behavioral health challenges over the last several years, including a sharp increase in suicides. Community leaders say those numbers illustrate a broader pattern of mental health distress that has been building for years and now requires coordinated action.

“This is something we need to address as a communitywide priority,” said Traci Hiatt, director of philanthropy at the Yampa Valley Community Foundation. “People are struggling, and it’s important that we stop minimizing that and start responding in a more informed way.”

The survey asks participants about emotional well-being, community connection, access to mental health care and alcohol use. The survey is available in both English and Spanish and takes less than 10 minutes to complete. Hiatt noted that some may receive a call with a follow-up phone survey component.

Responses will be collected through February.

Once the survey is closed, the data will be analyzed and shared with local stakeholders. 

While broader community health assessments have been conducted in the past, this effort is designed to focus specifically on mental and behavioral health. Brittney Wilburn, executive director of the Health Partnership, said the survey will provide more detailed insight into issues that providers and residents have been raising for years.

“This survey will take a deeper look at mental and behavioral health needs in our region,” Wilburn said in a YVCF press release. “That information is essential if we want to understand where the greatest needs exist and how to strengthen services and community connections.”

The Yampa Valley Community Foundation does not provide direct services, but it has identified mental health as a key priority within its community-based work. Hiatt said the foundation’s role is to act as a funding mechanism, coordinator and community partner as it brings together organizations that are already providing care while ensuring discussions are grounded in the shared data generated from the survey. 

“For more than a year, service providers have been meeting regularly to talk about gaps in care and unmet needs,” Hiatt said. “Our role is to help support those conversations, provide data where we can and help connect people and resources.”

Local partners supporting the survey include the Health Partnership, REPS, Northwest Colorado Health, UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center, Health Solutions West and Warhorse Ranch. Each organization brings different perspectives including crisis response, clinical care, prevention, peer support and community education.

While many of these organizations have been collaborating for years, conversations have intensified as providers, educators, law enforcement and health care leaders responded to increasing levels of mental health distress among residents of all ages in the Yampa Valley. 

Hiatt said the foundation became more actively involved in those discussions about a year ago. The organization began to join meetings that included hospital systems, mental health providers and crisis response agencies. While those meetings focused on emergency and crisis care, a smaller group of partners began exploring how to address mental health challenges before individuals reached a point of crisis.

“Those conversations started around suicide prevention,” Hiatt said. “It quickly became clear that we also need to look upstream and ask what’s happening before people reach that point.”

As a result, new initiatives are beginning to take shape, including a forthcoming peer support and resource line known as the HOPE Initiative, which Hiatt said is in the process of being launched. She also explained that the survey will help inform how such efforts are designed and prioritized.

The survey is also part of a broader regional effort through a partnership with the Katz Amsterdam Foundation, which focuses on mental health in rural resort communities. Founded by Vail Resorts CEO Rob Katz and his late wife, Elena Amsterdam, the foundation created the KAF Network to support collaboration and shared learning among communities facing similar challenges.

Through a shared data collection and analysis framework, 11 communities across the Rocky Mountain West are collecting the same core survey data. This approach allows each community to analyze its own results while also comparing trends in other areas such as Vail, Aspen and Jackson Hole.

Results from Routt and Moffat counties will be analyzed separately, which will allow local partners to see how experiences differ within the Yampa Valley. The data will also be aggregated across all participating communities, providing a broader framework for understanding common challenges and potential solutions.

“That combination of local and regional data is really valuable,” Hiatt said. “It allows us to see where our challenges are unique and where they’re shared, and it creates opportunities to learn from other communities.”

After the survey closes, PRC will analyze the data and present the findings in a format designed for community use. As part of the partnership, a consultant funded through the Katz Amsterdam Foundation will work with local mental and behavioral health providers to review the results and identify priority areas for future work.

Hiatt explained that the foundation will not make funding decisions based solely on the survey, but will continue to support partners through awareness building, education and philanthropy as opportunities emerge.

“This is not about quick fixes,” she said. “It’s about creating a shared understanding that can guide decisions over the long term.”

Success, she added, will be measured by whether the data identifies priorities and informs meaningful action.

“If this survey helps us establish a baseline and make more informed choices about where to focus our efforts, that’s success,” Hiatt said. “Mental health work takes time, but it has to be grounded in solid information.”

For now, the focus is on participation, and Hiatt emphasized that broad and diverse input is essential to ensuring the results reflect the full range of experiences in the Yampa Valley.

“We want to hear from everyone,” she said. “Whether someone feels directly affected by mental health challenges or not, their perspective matters.”

The survey is open to anyone 18 and older who lives or works in Routt or Moffat counties. More information and the online survey are available at PRCSurvey.com/begin/YampaValley2026.