So what does this say about attitudes? This year, businesses in the arena of mental health swept half of the Denver Metro Chamber Business Awards! Congratulations to the winners:

• Small Nonprofit Organization of the Year:  Carson J. Spencer Suicide Prevention
• Large Nonprofit Organization of the year: WellPower
• Emerging Business of the Year: Younique Counseling

Certainly, recent tragic events have brought the issue of mental wellness into the spotlight; however, this important conversation has continued holding its own!

Folks have taken this topic from a concern about ‘them’ and ‘that place’ and boldly brought it closer to our own communities, work places, schools, families, indeed, our own lives. The ways in which we face the challenges of our own life balance and as our curiosity grows about just how to support those that we love and live near around this topic of mental wellness. This conversation is gaining a more comfortable place at our tables. Also taking a seat at the table is what I call “mental health literacy” – people gaining a vocabulary with which we can talk about the issue of mental health. Research and the fantastic graphics that demonstrate conditions and disorders of the brain are finding their way into mainstream media taking some of the mystery out of this powerful organ. No doubt the internet and the instant finger tip knowledge that it affords people deserves plenty of credit.

The healthcare industry is embracing the knowledge that mental health IS health and strategies for wellness are beginning to be integrated. The real champions of this historical shift are just everyday people. Everyday folks are bravely bringing mental health to the forefront and recognizing that it is an important piece of keeping communities healthy. Everyday folks demonstrating that recovery is real and a part of recovery is a collective notion of hope. Folks holding the conversation, those are the folks holding the awards!

Jeannie Ritter
Mental Health Ambassador