It’s time to talk: Don’t we all know someone who is struggling with some form of mental illness or mental health challenge?

Colorado Community Media has launched a series of articles and forums, entitled “Time to Talk,” on the state of mental health, specifically in Douglas County, but applying to all of us, to discuss the need to bring the issue of mental illness into everyday conversation.

Colorado Community Media helped organize a public forum to discuss mental health, held April 26 in Lone Tree. You can watch the event which was streamed live. 

According to national mental health organizations, one in five adults in the U.S. — and one in five youths between 13 and 18 years old — experience a mental illness.

Throughout the state and nation, campaigns are underway to eliminate the stigma of shame and guilt associated with mental illness and encourage a conversation that puts the issue into the light, without judgment, with compassion and understanding. In the hopes of furthering that movement, Colorado Community Media will spend much of this year exploring how the state of mental health affects our Douglas County communities, which despite their general affluence are not immune from the societal stresses of high expectations, peer pressure and social media, among other factors that influence state of mind.

Check back on this page periodically. We will link to all of our stories in the series, as well as giving notice about our upcoming public forum events and more. 

Part I

Exploring the effort to do away with the old stigmas against mental health issues, and show the public the scope of the mental health issues that we all face.

• Time to Talk - A shared story
• Editorial - Time to Talk
• Douglas County's new campaign fights the stigma
• Connecting the dots for treatment proves challenging
• "If people are in crisis, they shouldn't have to wait"

Part II

Focus on how mental illness affects the work of law enforcement agencies and the jail system in Douglas County. 

• Mental Health calls challenge police
• 'All our jails are psychiatric facilities'
• Mental health holds balance personal liberty against public safety
• Officers learn how to de-escalate mental health situations 
• Cultural shift affects jail population 
• Checkups mean 'I'm more likely to stay sober'

Part III

Part IV

Part V

Part VI

A look at how substance abuse and addiction are so often entwined with mental health issues. 

• Addiction and mental health inherently linked

• Reasons why teens misuse substances

•  ‘He really still takes one day at a time’

• Binge drinking is the deadliest kind of drinking

• The high price of rehab

• Coalition focuses on preventing youth substance abuse

• Is marijuana addictive?