GRAND JUNCTION, Colorado – Rocky Mountain Health Foundation (RMHF) has awarded grants totaling $564,000 to 24 organizations on the Western Slope.
Grants from the Workforce Development Fund will specificallyaddress the healthcare workforce shortage by providing funding to organizations that support women, people of color, and people with low income who are seeking to begin or further their careers in behavioral health or health care, such as Medical Assistant (MA), Community Health Worker (CHW), Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), or Certified Addiction Specialist (ACC), for example.
The Rocky Mountain Health Foundation board of directors approved funding to 24 organizations from 11 Western Slope counties to help fund paid internships, living-expense stipends, and tuition assistance for behavioral health or healthcare related degrees or certifications as well as professional supervision for licensure that will ultimately improve the capacity to meet patient/client healthcare needs across the Western Slope. More than 250 potential new healthcare positions are possible with this funding. Sixty-three percent of the organizations funded intend to employ at least some of the program participants upon completion of their certification, degree or licensure.
The Grief Center of Southwest Colorado is a 2024 grant partner located in Durango that received funding to support internships and clinical supervision for counselors in training. The organization offers grief counseling and support to community members in a five-county area that includes several isolated rural and tribal communities, such as the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute reservations. They also see individuals and families from the Northern Navajo Nation and the regional Hispanic community.
Judy Austin, Executive Director of The Grief Center, wrote “We would like to thank you for the continued support in developing our workforce to include underrepresented counselors and social workers. (Recently) one of our graduating interns, Precious Holcomb, who identifies as Native American and Black, was awarded the student merit award at the University of Denver, and The Grief Center of SW CO was awarded the supervision and field agency award. I am so proud of these, as I believe they are evidence that this program is working! Together we are inching towards our combined vision.”