Eagle County voters boost mental-health services

To all Eagle County voters:

We want to express our sincere thanks for your overwhelming support of ballot measure 1A, which created a new funding stream for much needed mental health services in Eagle County.

Along with our partners, we have a vision for making affordable behavioral health services available for all who need them. This includes increasing the capacity for walk-in services, regardless of insurance status; increasing the availability of social detoxification services, with referral and follow-up treatment options; and creating a crisis stabilization unit which would provide short-term, in-patient assessment and care by mental health professionals.

Thanks to you, we can bring this vision into reality. Work is just getting started and we will be asking for help from our residents and professionals in the field.

For those of you who voted against 1A, we heard your concerns and are committed to being accountable and transparent with the expenditure of these funds. We have a tremendous opportunity to support our residents through mental health services, and we welcome your comments and suggestions as we move forward.

We invite you to watch our progress at http://www.eaglecounty.us/publichealth. And thanks again for coming together to help address this critical community need.

Jill Ryan, Kathy Chandler-Henry and Jeanne McQueeney

Eagle Board of County Commissioners