By Renata Hill, Moodfuel
Hometown woman invents a solution to improve mental health county-wide
The residents of close-knit Ouray County in southwestern Colorado grieved deeply over a young neighbor's suicide last year, but felt stuck and frustrated, unable to make life better. Enter force of nature and Moodfuel Changemaker for March 2024 Alex Durham.
Durham is the executive director of Voyager Youth, a local organization focused on guiding children and teens toward wellbeing through various confidence-building and learning activities. With her background as a positive youth development trainer and certified community mobilizer, she knew it was time to lead her neighbors toward healing, but in a new way. Her idea was innovative but risky – creating a county mental health fair from scratch.
"There's lots of trauma in our community and I think people need a better understanding of the resources we do have," Durham said. "If we can link them all together, we can prioritize mental health."
Normally, a public health agency would lend expertise, build momentum and provide funding for such an event, but when there was hesitation, Durham appealed directly to this mountain county, population 5,035. As a hometown woman, she knew almost everyone. From the county sheriff to small businesses to other nonprofits to folks on the street, Durham and her colleague, Catherine Geras, evangelized their mission, publicized it statewide and collected enough money to pay for it.
Durham said that gathering local mental health organizations together and inviting the public would persuade families and interested neighbors to participate, learn and talk. They would recover together.
Soon, the event generated its own momentum and enthusiasm. A DJ agreed to spin tunes, a potluck was planned and three Spanish-speakers volunteered to interpret. It would all take place in a familiar, safe setting at the Ouray Community Center for a manageable three hours.
The "first" Ouray County Mental Health Fair occurred on Sat., Mar. 6 with a healthy turnout, larger than expected with 23 organizations and about 110 residents attending. Durham said she scheduled a follow-up, community "debriefing" as well.
"I think people left feeling inspired about knowing more, especially around a cause like mental health. I hope we'll have more people next time," she said.
Next time can't come too soon, according to Durham. She's planning for a subsequent mental health event for which neighbors have vowed lots of additional support. Could this be the start of a replicable, community-driven mental health resource model? Durham wants to find out.
