Mental Health: A Phone Call Away

Lending A Shoulder and An Ear

If you’ve been experiencing a foggy brain, or perhaps a lack of motivation to get the day-to-day things done in your life, you’re not alone. And now, thanks to a new program being offered by Solvista Health, help is just a phone call away: 719-275-2351.

During a pandemic or other type of disaster such as a wildfire or hurricane, it is normal for those impacted to feel overwhelmed, scared, tired, depressed, anxious, angry, and a whole host of emotions. The healthcare experts at Solvista want people to know this is normal and, it’s okay to not feel okay during these unusual times. Fortunately,  a new program is available for you to share those concerns, and ease the burden.

Last Week, Solvista Health announced that it is a new member of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Colorado Spirit Program, allowing the Leadville facility to provide free COVID-19 counseling and support to the Lake County community. The pandemic has caused massive impacts both economically and emotionally on many creating the need for additional support. Solvista aims to use the Colorado Spirit grant funding to help meet those needs.

Colorado Spirit counselors are trained to provide support around the stress and disruption the pandemic is causing for people. These counselors do not provide traditional mental health treatment and diagnosis. Counselors can be a listening ear, a connection to resources, or a coach for developing coping skills.

Solvista Health is located at 714 Front Street in Leadville, CO 80461

Solvista Health is hosting two Community Engagement calls this month with community members and leaders from Custer, Fremont, Lake and Chaffee Counties. The purpose of the two meetings is to gather valuable feedback which will be used to help identify areas of highest behavioral health needs in our local communities. This information will help the team develop targeted support locally.

“Our first priority upon receiving this opportunity was to ask our community partners what they are seeing and experiencing locally,” said Mandy Kaisner, COO of Solvista Health. “We are fortunate to be part of very dynamic communities with people who really care about supporting one another and want to be involved.”

The services provided through the Colorado Spirit program are confidential, free and do not require enrollment in Solvista Health services. If you are feeling the stressful impacts of COVID-19 and need to talk, please call Solvista Health at 719-275-2351, and ask for the Colorado Spirit Support Program.

Fall Back: Time Change on Saturday

“Hello, darkness, my old friend. I’ve come to talk with you again.” This line from Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence” could very well be the theme for Daylights Savings when you live at 10,200 feet. Not only have the colder temperatures set in but now the sunset will also bring darker skies an hour earlier.

This year – as if on-trend for 2020 – the fall back will happen this Saturday, October 31 – Halloween – on the night of the full moon. So that’s one more hour of . . . well, best to leave it at that this year.

Naming Advisory Board Meets Tonight

Readers may recall the Leadville Today story about the newly formed Colorado Geographic Naming Advisory Board (Board) by the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. The Board was established by Governor Jared Polis to evaluate proposals concerning name changes, new names, and name controversies of geographic features and certain public places in the State of Colorado and then making official recommendations to the Governor.

Colorado’s tallest, Mt. Elbert looms large over Crystal Lakes located just outside Leadville Today.

This evening meeting will continue the orientation of the board, including a consideration of by-laws and processes and take public comment.

• WHO: Members of the Colorado Geographic Naming Advisory Board
• WHAT: October meeting of the Colorado Geographic Naming Advisory Board
• WHEN: Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020, 6 – 8 p.m.
• WHERE: Zoom Link

Thursday, Oct. 29 Will See Traffic Impact

While the original date planned for earlier this week was postponed due to weather, local commuters and motorists will see an overnight full closure of Colorado Highway 91 on Thursday, Oct. 27 near Copper Mountain. The closure will allow crews to install a new pedestrian bridge over the intersection of CO 91 and Copper Road, which is located just south of Interstate 70. Nighttime travelers seeking access to I-70 from Leadville will be detoured via US Highway 24 through Minturn.

“The bridge will be installed overnight to minimize the impact to travelers on CO 91,” explained Jason Lederer, senior resource specialist for Summit County Open Space & Trails. “This is the first, and likely, only time we will be impacting motorists to build this trail. We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding while we work on this exciting improvement to our trail system.”

Travelers will be able to access Copper Mountain from I-70 throughout the duration of the closure. And Lake County employees will be able to access The Climax Mine from the Leadville side.

The new bridge is a part of the larger Fremont Pass Recreational Pathway Project. This project is a collaboration between Summit and Lake counties, the U.S. Forest Service and the Climax Molybdenum Company. The new pathway will connect Summit and Lake counties’ pathway systems and will pass through National Forest and Climax-owned properties over Fremont Pass and along Colorado Highway 91 Top of the Rockies National Scenic Byway.

The project is being funded through the Federal Lands Access Program grant, Summit County, the State of Colorado and a local nonprofit organization of bicyclists. This three-mile section of trail runs along Tenmile Creek and is expected to open in early summer 2021.

TRAVEL IMPACTS

The closure will take place from 7 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. The detour will redirect traffic from Leadville through Minturn using US 24 and I-70, which adds 36 miles and approximately 30-40 minutes to travel time. Please see below for a map of the detour.

PROJECT INFORMATION

For additional information about this project, please contact the project information line at 970-456-4456 or SH91Bridge@PublicInfoTeam.com to sign up for updates. Travelers are urged to “know before you go.” Gather information about weather forecasts and anticipated travel impacts and current road conditions prior to hitting the road. CDOT resources include:

• Road conditions and travel information: www.COtrip.org

• Sign up for project or travel alerts: bit.ly/COalerts

• See scheduled lane closures: codot.gov/travel/scheduled-lane-closures.html

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