Just months after expanding bilingual behavioral health services to Denver-based Pueblo Breed Services it lost its second funding offer through Health Colorado Inc., an agency that had asked Services staff to apply for funding in the first place.
Pueblo’s center for Servicios de la Raza, or Services for the People, is located at 805 W. Fourth St., where it opened on April 30 with nearly half a million dollars in funding through Health Colorado, allowing the agency will install the brick-and-mortar site in Pueblo.
Health Colorado is a private entity that administers Medicaid funds for the region that covers southeastern Colorado. Lori Roberts, chief executive officer and director of programs for Health Colorado Inc., said the $500,000 grant awarded to Services in January was “one of the largest grants we have ever awarded and was to support their goal of extending these grants culturally and linguistically competent services in Pueblo”.
However, Neva Martinez Ortega, co-director and therapist of behavioral health services and a Pueblo native, expressed disappointment that the agency has not renewed funding.
“Salud Colorado verbally courted us to open a store (in Pueblo) in the first place. Services immediately worked to obtain Medicaid accreditation in the catchment area and the agency has served thousands of Pueblo’s most vulnerable people,” said Martínez Ortega. “It’s a behavioral health desert and it’s been my dream to bring these services to Pueblo.”
Since opening in Pueblo, 98 clients of Servicios have received or are receiving licensed therapy or clinical case management, more than 500 community members received additional human needs services, and 3,150 received services through education and outreach, Martinez said. Ortega.
“All of the clients identify as low-income,” he said, and come from Latino or Chicano backgrounds. Many need mental health or substance abuse treatment services, and delivery in Spanish is particularly important “since many members of the community are monolingual,” Martínez Ortega said. .
More Services news:Bilingual service agency Servicio de la Raza expands to Pueblo
Second grant application does not generate funding
When Services staff applied for a Fall 2022 Community Reinvestment Grant through Health Colorado, the agency received nothing. Services has no way to appeal the decision and has not been able to learn why the agency was unable to obtain funding, Martínez Ortega said.
“Unfortunately, they weren’t selected in this last grant cycle,” Roberts said. “It’s a highly competitive process – we received 42 applications and were able to award 17 grants in this round.”
“We are significantly concerned by this disturbing and surprising news. We recognize that funding is never guaranteed and we appreciate the first year of funding, but going from nearly $500,000 to zero leaves little to no time to adjust,” said Martinez Ortega.
Roberts said that while Health Colorado offers one-year grants, it “encourages all previous applicants to reapply, as well as other organizations.”
Service programs for the Latinx community are “sorely needed in our Pueblo metro area,” Martínez Ortega said, noting that the loss of funding “jeopardizes our bilingual behavioral health services, as we only receive funding to continue with services until April 30, 2023. ”
Roberts said that when grant winners share their excitement about receiving Health Colorado grants, it increases awareness of the opportunity and more applicants come forward. Roberts said there are many organizations in Health Colorado’s 19-county service area that deserve to be nonprofits.
“We look forward to continuing to support (Services) in their mission as a provider, as they implement their existing grant and provide them with technical assistance in any way,” Roberts said.
Services will continue, but agency seeks other grants
Despite not receiving funding from Health Colorado, Servicios is “committed to the Pueblo community,” Martinez Ortega said.
“We have been working overtime to ensure we can maintain all programming and staff providing services,” he said. “We hire all of our program staff at the Pueblo location directly from Pueblo and we want to keep their jobs safe.”
Services employs seven staff members, including four behavioral health workers, one re-entry staff member, and two benefits enrollment workers.
Services staff immediately began writing new grant applications totaling more than $500,000, Martinez Ortega said. Staff will continue to seek funding so that “community members already receiving services will not have interruptions in their individual recovery journeys.”
Since opening, Servicios has also worked with another agency to host a food and school supply distribution event in August that attracted more than 500 Pueblo families where it provided more than 5,000 free meals for 500 food boxes and also offered flu shots. COVID-19 and other services. .
“We have worked very hard to build relationships with our communities and partners. We are advocating for a response and we are mobilizing members of the community to speak up and take action to ensure that the Latinx population is prioritized, since they are almost half of the population of this community,” said Martínez Ortega.
Under separate funding sources, the Services agency also offers community reentry case management for parolees recently released from prison and bilingual benefits enrollment services.
Services launches a call to action
Based on community needs data that “clearly demonstrates the deep disparities when it comes to accessing treatment in a timely manner,” Martinez Ortega said Services is asking Puebloans to speak up.
“We ask members of the community to share with the local press, elected officials and Health Colorado their personal stories and the barriers they face when seeking health services. A big disconnect is the human or personal element,” said Martínez Ortega. “We have data, but members of our community have experienced so many levels of discrimination and oppression that many are afraid to speak up and share their needs.”
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Chief reporter Tracy Harmon covers business news. She can be reached by email at [email protected] or via Twitter at twitter.com/tracywumps.
