School-Based Mental Health

Did you know that SummitStone Health Partners offers free services providing education, referrals, consultations and planning to support the overall wellbeing of local students and staff in the Poudre, Estes Park and Thompson school districts?

SummitStone consultants work with schools to build comprehensive mental health systems to foster positive school climate and culture, increase school and student safety, and deliver data-informed services so all students can thrive and learn. The consultant provides a 3-tiered service plan tailored to the needs of students, school or district. These services range from referral and care coordination to crisis intervention. All services are provided free of cost to Thompson, Estes Park and Poudre School district community members. The program focuses on universal prevention strategies, systems and procedural enhancements, as well as targeted collaboration with internal and external stakeholders.

Tier 1

• Focused on promoting positive mental health and preventing occurrences of problems
• Referral and care coordination
• Classroom consultation and support for individual students for social and emotional needs
• Training/resources: Mental Health Literacy, Youth Mental Health First Aid, compassion fatigue and burnout, suicide prevention, QPR and staff wellness
• Mental health needs assessment and resource mapping

Tier 2

• Focused on preventing risk factors or progression of early onset problems
• Referral and mental health care coordination
• MTSS/IEP attendance for collaboration/consult regarding accommodation for mental health and social emotional needs
• Collaboration and planning for 504s
• Collaboration and planning for flexible assignments, behavior contracts and accommodation
• Small group parent education and resources

Tier 3

• Focused on individual student interventions to address more serious concerns and prevent the worsening of symptoms that can impact daily life
• All of Tier 1 services (see above)
• MTSS/IEP attendance for collaboration or consult regarding accommodation for mental health and social emotional needs
• Crisis intervention, postvention and consultation

Have questions? Please contact:

Poudre & Estes Park School Districts

Lisa Rossi (she/her)

School Mental Health Consultant

Lisa.Rossi@SummitStoneHealth.org

(970) 657-0768

Thompson School District

Kayla Ballou (she/her)

School Mental Health Consultant

Kayla.Ballou@SummitStoneHealth.org

(970) 657-1734

Interested in supporting SummitStone?

Behavioral Health in Colorado

Advocating for Community Mental Health Centers

Our team joined the Colorado Behavioral Healthcare Council and other safety net providers in January to advocate for Colorado’s community mental health centers. Read below to learn more about ongoing advocacy for Colorado safety net providers.

Key Issues to Monitor in our Community

Mending the Safety Net in Colorado

After the passage of BH 22-1278, the Behavioral Health Administration developed nearly 500 pages of regulations for behavioral health safety net providers to implement that statute taking effect in July 2024. Operating within these rules has presented challenges for safety net providers and has affected the care of clients throughout the state. Safety net providers are asking our legislators to:

1. Track progress on these issues and ensure they do not perpetuate unintended adverse consequences for client care

Funding of Safety Net Providers

The state of Colorado is currently facing a $750 million budget shortfall that directly impacts safety net behavioral health services. Additionally, the cost of delivering care has increased and become more complex due to new state regulatory structures. Safety net providers are asking our legislators to:

1. Ensure that progress on coverage and critical benefits for behavioral health are maintained
2. Ensure the state’s new behavioral health system be funded adequately
3. Ensure all who qualify for Medicaid are enrolled
4. Maximize federal funds

Upcoming Events

Question, Persuade, Refer Virtual Training

Friday, February 21, 10 a.m. – noon

This FREE virtual training is 60-90 minutes and presented by a SummitStone certified QPR instructor. The QPR mission is to reduce suicidal behaviors and save lives by providing innovative, practical and proven suicide prevention training. Just like CPR, QPR is an emergency response to help someone in crisis. Sign up here.

PSD Community Transition Fair

Thursday, February 27, 10 a.m. – noon

Northside Aztlan Community Center

112 Willow St. Fort Collins

This FREE event is open to Poudre School District students, families and teachers to learn more about PSD and local community resources. Explore 40+ community resource booths including us! Dinner and childcare provided. Register for the event and request childcare/accommodations/ interpreters here.

Matthews House Family Resource Day

Tuesday, February 25, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

First Presbyterian Church

531 S. College Ave. Fort Collins

This free event aims to connect Larimer County families with information and support. Resources include local benefits, mental health, education, medical, special needs supports, and housing resource navigation. Call (970) 449-5191 for more information.

Interested in collaborating with us?

SummitStone in the Community

Our team participated in the Yarrow Collective Resource Fair during their Stand Up Comedy Show this past January.

• Behavioral Health Technician
• Behavioral Health Therapist Co – Responder
• Utilization Management Specialist Bed-Based Care
• Behavioral Health Therapist – nights
• Crisis Registered Nurse – Inpatient- full time nights
• Clinical Team Lead at Centre

• Behavioral Health Therapist – Mobile Response
• Medical Assistant – AIIM & Wellness Program
• Acute Care Medical Provider
• Medical Assistant
• Senior Accountant
• Accounts Receivable Billing Specialist

Interested in working at SummitStone?

summitstone.org | (970) 494-4200

Welcoming 2025

For 2025 and beyond, our vision is to make Northern Colorado the healthiest community in the nation. We are committed to serving our communities by fostering trust, empowering recovery, and inspiring hope. Happy New Year!

Power of Community…

Why one Colorado county has seen a steady drop in its suicide rate over 5 years

“Over the last five years, Larimer County in northern Colorado has seen what appears to be a steady, sustained drop in its suicide rate — a potentially significant breakthrough in a state that consistently ranks in the top 10 nationally for its high rate. How the county got there was a decade-long affair in which local officials, nonprofits, private businesses and law enforcement rallied around suicide prevention.”

Read more about the steady drop in suicide rates in Larimer County in a recent article by the Denver Post.

Community Reinforcement and Family Training (CRAFT) brings friends and family members of people who use substances together with trained CRAFT professionals. CRAFT professionals offer strategies to create positive interactions with people who are struggling with a substance use disorder. Family members and friends can also create a community with others who are going through similar situations in their own lives. According to the Colorado Behavioral Health Administration, research has shown seven out of ten family members who participate in the CRAFT program are successful in engaging their loved one into a treatment program.

Additionally, CRAFT groups can help individuals:

1. Reduce harmful substance use within the family.
2. Encourage the person struggling with a substance use disorder to find and start treatment. If they’re already in treatment, you can learn how to encourage them to stay engaged in their treatment program.
3. Improve their own life through learning positive communication strategies and how to set healthy boundaries.

Starting February 3, SummitStone will offer a FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC CRAFT Group in collaboration with the North Colorado Health Alliance. The group meets Mondays from 3-4:30 p.m. at the Loveland Community Health Center. The CRAFT Group will teach several skills such as:

1. Understanding a loved one’s triggers to use substances
2. Positive communication strategies
3. Positive reinforcement strategies, rewarding non-using behavior
4. Problem-solving
5. Self-care
6. Domestic violence precautions
7. Getting a loved one to accept help

This group will instruct loved ones how to secure their own emotional and physical well-being through discussion and educational activities. Join us starting on February 4, 2025, at the Loveland Community Health Center! Find out more about CRAFT Groups in Colorado here.

Interested in supporting Crisis Services?

Upcoming Events

Question, Persuade, Refer Virtual Training

Friday, January 17 from 10 a.m. – noon

This FREE virtual training is 60-90 minutes and presented by a SummitStone Health Partners certified QPR instructor. The QPR mission is to reduce suicidal behaviors and save lives by providing innovative, practical and proven suicide prevention training. Just like CPR, QPR is an emergency response to help someone in crisis. Sign up here.

SummitStone in the Community

Our team participated in the Winter Fest Resource Fair hosted by Care Communities!

Interested in collaborating with us?

summitstone.org | (970) 494-4200

Celebrating One Year of Longview

On December 2^nd, 2023, we opened the doors to Longview with a mission: to foster hope, healing, and recovery for individuals struggling with mental illness and substance use. After three failed ballot measures, the voters of Larimer County committed to ensuring this community’s access to essential behavioral health services. At SummitStone Health Partners, we envisioned a future where we could offer the highest quality crisis care driven by the talent and skill of our staff, the needs of our community, the strength and depth of our community partnerships, and our commitment to best practice and innovation. Our goal was to create an environment where individuals feel seen, heard, and supported on their journeys towards the lives they want to lead.

By any measure, our Longview services are a success. With clinical team members and medical team members working side by side, a state of the art facility built for the work we do, advanced technology like OxeVision, and the strength of our community partnerships with law enforcement, first responders, and local hospitals, we deliver an integrated and collaborative model of care that has few peers across the country. On that weekend in December 2023, we didn’t know whether we would serve five clients or fifty. We filled those initial beds in 36 hours. We started with 16 beds. We now have 32. We anticipated 5,000 urgent care visits in our first year; we’ve seen approximately 6,400 visits. We anticipated 2,500 admissions to our units; we’ve seen about 3,000. We opened a lab and a pharmacy and provided valuable learning experiences for students in social work, nursing, medicine, pharmacy, occupational therapy, and psychology. We’ve exceeded our expectations in just about every area.

As we celebrate this milestone, we honor the stories of resilience, courage, and hope that have defined our first year. Feedback from our clients serves as the most powerful motivation, reminding us of the essential reasons to pursue this journey.

“The staff treated me even more human than the last time. They were kind, caring, compassionate, and understanding. They helped me with so many resources, and I truly feel ready to give this shot my best! Y’all were so good, I want to come back and give what I can!” 

“This was the most pleasant and helpful place in Colorado I have ever been to, and I have been to a lot of places.”  

We celebrate the courage and strength of those who sought our services. We are grateful for the opportunity to be part of their journey.

As we take a moment to celebrate this milestone, we remain focused on the future. There is still much work to be done. Although we have started to fill an important gap in our community, the need persists and will continue to evolve. We look forward to opening more beds at Longview, welcoming more learners, and establishing ourselves as a future Center of Excellence in acute care. Our commitment lies in supporting and growing our existing team members, educating our future workforce and introducing them to our innovative care model. Together, we aim to continuously raise the standard for behavioral health in our community today and every day.

We are grateful to the voters of Larimer County who invest their tax dollars to bridge a critical gap in our community’s access to behavioral health care and to the County Commissioners who entrust us with operating and managing this invaluable community asset.  We are equally grateful to all our staff who, in just one year, turned thousands of struggles into stories of recovery and strength. From direct care staff to operational team members, we stand by our value of Stronger Together. The dedication of all our staff shines as an enduring and guiding light of support for so many.

SummitStone’s Executive team and Longview’s leadership team extend our deepest gratitude to all who gave their time, energy, and expertise to make Longview a reality. Thank you! Together, we can continue to boldly raise the bar toward a future where everyone has access to the behavioral health care they deserve, where stigma is eradicated, and where healing is an achievable reality. Here’s to an amazing first year and many more to come!

Dr. Lesley Brooks

Chief Medical Officer

SummitStone Health Partners

Interested in supporting Crisis Services?

Introducing Our New Board Members

Seth Forwood

Seth Forwood has lived in Fort Collins for over 33 years and has worked alongside those experiencing homelessness and addiction for 19 years. He began his vocation as an intern at Harvest Farm where he lived and worked with the men in the program for three months. After completing his bachelor’s degree in philosophy from CSU he started full-time at Harvest Farm. He worked for ten years in various roles in direct practice and completed his master’s in Social Work at CSU before becoming director.

He is now the Vice President of Programs overseeing the Northern Colorado facilities of Fort Collins Rescue Mission and Harvest Farm. In this role he also focuses on community development through building bridges between unlikely sectors of society to discover creative solutions that impact and benefit the entire community. He is currently the Vice Chair of Larimer County Behavioral Health Policy Council and serves on the Fort Collins Police Chief’s Community Advisory Board, CSU’s School of Social Work Community Advisory Board, Northern Colorado Continuum of Care’s Governing Board, and the board of his children’s hybrid school, Paideia Classical Community.  

Steve Tool

Steve Tool is originally from Colorado. He grew up in Englewood and graduated from the University of Colorado with a BA in Political Science in 1965. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U. S. Air Force and served for five years as a B-52 navigator attaining the rank of captain. He flew 160 combat missions in the Viet Nam War and received the Distinguished Flying Cross and the eight Air Medals.

In 1970 Steve entered the real estate business in Denver. In 1975 he moved to Fort Collins. He was an active Realtor or real estate appraiser for 33 years. Steve has a history of community leadership. In 1983-84 he was selected Volunteer-of-the-Year by the Colorado Chapter of the American Cancer Society and in 1987 he was selected as Realtor-of-the-Year by the Fort Collins Board of Realtors. Steve served in the Colorado General Assembly from 1995 thru 2000. He was a member of the Health, Environment, Welfare and Institutions Committee; Finance Committee; Judiciary Committee; and chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and the Joint Budget Committee. He received numerous legislative awards in the six years he served in the General Assembly.

From 2001 to 2005 Steve worked for the Colorado Department of Revenue as its legislative liaison and public information officer and then as the director of the Division of Motor Vehicles. In 2005 Governor Owens appointed Steve to his Cabinet as the executive director of the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing managing the state’s Medicaid program, the Child Health Plan Plus and the Indigent Care Program. Steve and his wife Karen have five adult children and ten grandchildren and call Windsor home.

Thank You Colorado!

Thank you for supporting us, Colorado! This December 10th, you helped us raise $13,788 for Spirit Crossing Clubhouse and Peer Support Services at SummitStone Health Partners.  

Your contributions empower individuals on their recovery journeys, providing essential resources and a welcoming community. Together, we’re creating lasting change in Larimer County. We couldn’t do it without you! Here’s to continuing our mission and supporting each other in the New Year! 

Upcoming Events

Question, Persuade, Refer Training

Friday, December 20

10 a.m. – noon

Virtual

This FREE virtual training is 60-90 minutes and presented by a SummitStone Health Partners certified QPR instructor. The QPR mission is to reduce suicidal behaviors and save lives by providing innovative, practical and proven suicide prevention training. Just like CPR, QPR is an emergency response to help someone in crisis. Sign up here.

SummitStone in the Community

Our Team particiapted in the 5th Warrant Clearance and Resource Fair event hosted by the District Attorney – Eighth Judicial District – Colorado, Office of the State Public Defender, the 8th Judicial District Judicial Branch, the Fort Collins Municipal Court and the Larimer County Community Justice Alternatives.

We celebrated the giving season at the Tree for All event in Loveland hosted by Foothills Service League. Proceeds from the event directly support Foothills Gateway and our very own Child and Family Services here at SummitStone!

Interested in collaborating with SummitStone?

summitstone.org | (970) 494-4200

Letter from the Interim CEO

Dear Valued Community Members,

I am honored to introduce myself as SummitStone Health Partners Interim CEO. My journey with this organization spans just under 30 years, every iteration of our organizational name (including Larimer County Mental Health!), and multiple roles including clinician for youth and families, Chief Operations Officer, and Chief Clinical Officer. Between 1999 and 2007, I stepped away briefly to serve as Executive Director for Namaqua Center. While there, I led the acquisition of our organization by SummitStone thus returning to SummitStone as Namaqua Center Director. My career has been rooted in a commitment to bringing the highest quality behavioral health services to the communities of Larimer County. I am excited to bring my diverse experience to this role.

As a long time SummitStone employee, I am continually inspired by the exceptional skill, passion, dedication, and resilience of our team and by our shared values of acceptance, togetherness, equity, and bold leadership. Further, there is a special quality to Larimer County and Northern Colorado—a spirit of partnership that strengthens our entire community. I am so very proud of and committed to continuing SummitStone’s participation in this rich tradition of deep collaboration.

As I come into this role, I also acknowledge the circumstances necessitating my transition to Interim CEO. As we previously communicated, recent times have brought significant challenges, including difficult decisions that have affected our organization and the community. While we’ve had to implement some hard changes, my unwavering focus as interim CEO remains on rebuilding and strengthening the trust you’ve placed in SummitStone. SummitStone remains fully committed to ensuring we can continue to meet the community’s behavioral health needs for years to come. As we navigate the evolving landscape of behavioral health care, we remain adaptable and committed to meet the changing needs of our community.

As we move forward, I am grateful for the trust placed in me by the SummitStone Board of Directors to guide our organization through this period of transition. This responsibility is one I take to heart, and I’m committed to honoring it fully. I look forward to working closely with our dedicated Board, our talented staff, the individuals and families we serve, and our valued community partners. Together, we will continue our vital work and pave the way for SummitStone’s next chapter of leadership and service.

I look forward to fostering continued collaboration and partnerships within our community. Your support means everything to us. Together, we can create a stronger, healthier community for all.

Warmest regards,

Cyndi

SummitStone in the Community

CELEBRATING OUR CO-RESPONSE TEAM: SUPPORTING BEHAVIORAL HEALTH THROUGH COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS

SummitStone Health Partners teams up with Northern Colorado law enforcement and emergency services to offer empathetic, behavioral health support right where it is needed. SummitStone co-responder clinicians are embedded in the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office, Loveland Police Department, Estes Park Police Department, Johnstown Police Department, and Thompson School District.  

The Co-Response model partners clinicians with law enforcement to provide a behavioral health centered approach to community members experiencing a mental health crisis. Megan Hencinksi, SummitStone’s Co-Response Program Manager shared, “it allows clinicians to meet the individual in crisis where they are at and be able to assess for safety of the individual, safety for the community and identify treatment needs.” In the past year, SummitStone’s Co-Response program provided a cumulative of 5,960 services in Larimer County. 

Thank you for joining us in celebrating our Co-Response Team this September by spreading awareness and recognizing this important work across our community and country!  

Paige L. providing free acu-wellness treatments at the Hickory Village Resource Fair in Fort Collins.

Providing resource information to attendees at the Center Parent and Grandparent summit in collaboration with The Center for Family Outreach.

In August, SummitStone employees honored International Overdose Awareness Day with remembrance, resources, and harm reduction supplies in collaboration with the Northern Colorado Health Alliance and our partners in Fort Collins, Loveland and Estes Park.

Upcoming Events

Interested in collaborating with SummitStone?

summitstone.org | (970) 494-4200