August 25, 2023
Caring for Denver was created from a Denver Ballot initiative to help direct funding toward addressing mental health and substance misuse needs in Denver.
With this enduring investment, Caring for Denver works with Community organizations and partners to help build vibrant Denver where all communities are strengthened by the mental health and substance misuse support they need.
In 2020 Caring 4 Denver helped found the Denver STAR program to provide alternatives to traditional police response. Council has already voted to expand STAR multiple times since it began, growing from one van to six in order to cover the entire city. It’s popular with both police and mental health professionals.
Executive Director, Lorez Meinhold states, “…our true goal is to ensure that people that need care, get access to that care…This was an opportunity to show up differently, to help build trust again with some of these systems of care, to feel like they were understood and respected so that they could get the care they needed.” Listen to Lorez speak about the STAR program and the importance of ensuring equitable access to care here.