Mental health disparities, responding resources (2024)

Local activists and organizations are aiming to close that gap, although it takes a village to reduce cultural stigma.

According to U.S. Census Bureau data collected between 2021 and 2022, LGBT adults reported symptoms of depression and anxiety (42.5% and 49.6%) at about twice the rate of heterosexual respondents (19.6% and 24.6%).

Similarly, this year’s Healthy Kids Colorado Survey found that the rate of students seriously considering suicide is more than three times higher among bisexual, gay/lesbian, pansexual and asexual youth than their heterosexual counterparts; transgender youth seriously considered suicide at a rate more than four times higher than cisgender students.

In that same survey, nearly 25% of Mesa County youth identified as LGBTQ+.

“We’re talking about a quarter of our (youth) population – we need to recognize that we need to make sure we have service providers who are safe for LGBT youth,” Mesa County Public Health Lead Data Analyst ShaeLynn Watt said. “I sometimes hear the sense in the community that there’s just not that many LGBTQ+ people. No, it’s a quarter of our student population.”

THE SOCIAL EXPLANATION

According to Identity Insights Founder and Chief Executive Officer Devin Pinkston, one of the primary reasons the LGBTQ+ community faces higher rates of mental health struggle is a lack of belonging and community.

She said one reason why the LGBTQ+ population is likely struggling with mental health at a higher rate is because minority communities are more likely to lack those connections in rural and conservative areas.

“We see that right now, across the country, certain rights are being stripped away and families are sometimes not supportive or safe people,” Pinkston said. “There’s rejection at times if somebody comes out. I would say our community here does tend to see some of those bigger, widespread mental health concerns.”

Pinkston added that finding a sense of community can also be difficult in socially conservative areas because it’s less common to openly discuss mental health challenges and resources – especially if those resources are tailored towards LGBTQ+ people.

Founder and Director of Loving Beyond Understanding Andi Tilmann added that resources like LBU are often lesser known because they have to balance offering LGBTQ+ people resources and a venue to socialize with safety and security.

“One really important factor for (the physical location) was that we needed security because if I don’t have armed security and bulletproof glass, I can’t advertise these kids are gathering to have pizza, play games, play Nintendo or run a program,” Tilmann said.

The Montrose Press reported earlier in July that an LGBTQ+ Pride float in Montrose’s 4th of July parade was the subject of vandalism and verbal assault. According to the article, an attendee of the parade threw an object at the float’s lead truck, cracking the window and denting the vehicle.

Pride organizers were also the subject of verbal harassment, as they reported people passing by yelled slurs at organizers setting up the float.

The link between social connection and mental health was also recently demonstrated in a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report on how bisexual and transgender adults indicated mental health challenges, stress and loneliness approximately twice as much as straight and cisgender adults.

The report corroborates that social connections are substantial protective factors against mental health challenges, especially among minority demographics. Accordingly, the study advised that care providers promote a welcoming environment and that communities implement evidence-based interventions such as creating support systems and safe, affirming spaces.

Pinkston and other community leaders have been working to do exactly that.

LOCAL LGBTQ+ SUPPORT

Identity Insights is a mental health counseling service in Grand Junction that Pinkston opened in 2016 after noticing a gap in welcoming environments and affirming therapy for the LGBTQ+ population. She said the certified counselors and therapists are all educated in the nuances and standards of care for LGBTQ+ and especially transgender clients.

Pinkston added that while not every aspect of an LGBTQ+ person’s mental health is tied to their identity or orientation, it’s critical they know all aspects are accepted and feel comfortable in mental health settings.

Another resource for the local LGBTQ+ population is Loving Beyond Understanding, a program facilitating LGBTQ+ resources and venues across Grand Junction and the Western Slope.

According to Tilmann, the program began in January 2021 with a $7,000 grant; since then, LBU has been awarded more than $1.8 million to fund its array of initiatives across western Colorado, run by 16 employees. Last December, LBU opened a new in-person space (The Center) for the LGBTQ+ community in Grand Junction to socialize and access critical resources.

The program also offers training for mental health and social service providers to learn responsive and affirming practices that meet the needs of care for LGBTQ+ patients, trains peer specialists with lived experience to bolster the shortage of (affirming) behavioral health professionals and is applying to become a Medicaid provider so therapy can be offered through the center at a low or zero cost.

Tilmann added that The Center could potentially offer much more to the local LGBTQ+ community, except that it currently only operates between 4 and 7 p.m..

According to Tilmann, the program would have to spend around $130,000 on armed security each year to open for longer hours, but the grant funding that supports much of The Center’s operations cannot be spent on security.

“There’s a lot of people who want to harm us, that want us dead or disappeared, even if we’re their own children or employees,” Tilmann said. “But, there are also a lot of people in this community and the state who know better and want to do better and are rising to support, which always happens: the louder it gets, the more support it gets – and there is support.”