Grant recipients commit to staying in Denver for a year after graduation, filling a shortage in the community.
DENVER — Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver) is set to expand the workforce of mental health professionals in the Denver area, thanks to an $800,000 grant awarded by the Caring for Denver Foundation. The funding will support students pursuing master’s degrees in behavioral health with an emphasis on addictions or a master’s in social work.
“This gift is going to produce at least 25 professionals with a commitment to work in Denver in mental behavioral health,” said Prof. Jo Bailey, associate dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences at MSU Denver. “Denver, like many major cities across the United States, suffers from a from what we could call a crisis of lack of clinical practitioners who can provide these services.”
The grant provides a full-time health career navigator for mental health master’s students who gives career advice and can help guide students towards a successful path post-graduation. It also offers $7,500 per semester to students during their required internships before they can graduate, up to $15,000 if students participate for two semesters. The only stipulation is that the students must commit to working in Denver for a full year after graduating.
“With our basic needs covered, I can finally breathe,” said Gaby Torres, who is among the first cohort of students to receive the grant money. “It was life-changing to know that there are foundations that see the inequity of caring professionals not meeting the financial expectations of experts in other fields.
Torres grew up in Fort Collins and is happy to see more mental health professionals staying in Colorado. She’s grateful for the education provided by MSU Denver and its strong emphasis on how the community can shape mental health.
“Growing up here, this community has supported me, and I feel grateful to be able to show up for the community in the same way,” she said. “It makes me proud of being a social worker that graduated from MSU and knowing that we’re building new emerging professionals from the same framework.”