Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser visited with members from the community on Friday, May 10.
The meeting lasted for one hour and was held at the Archuleta County administration building. The stop was part of Weiser’s tour across the southwestern portion of the state in which he met with communities to discuss current issues each community is facing.
At the local meeting, Weiser heard from two representatives from the Pagosa Community Initiative (PCI) and their concerns with youth mental health in the community.
“Many of our families have generational trauma, institutional trauma,” said PCI Family Services Director Crystal Snow.
PCI originally began in 2021 and provides out-of-school service for kids in kindergarten through 12th grade in the community.
Snow voiced concerns about the youth mental health resources available to kids in the community, noting that PCI works with a lot of families in Aspen Springs.
Snow mentioned that many residents in Aspen Springs do not have access to running water, proper sewage systems and Internet service, explaining that a lot of families have to haul their water and/or run generators for electricity.
“As a family center we see a lot of struggle coming out of Aspen Springs,” Snow said. “It’s also a very difficult area to be able to get into because everybody’s hiding. They think they’re going to be in trouble because they don’t have electricity, they don’t have these things.”
She noted there is also crime and drug activity in the area, paired with a lack of police presence, compounded with infrastructure needs that are contributing to the mental health struggles for youths in the area.
“We have a lot of fentanyl, we have a lot of crime that’s happening in the Aspen Springs area,” she said, adding, “we have a severe lack of police presence in Aspen Springs.”
The Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) is responsible for calls received in Aspen Springs and is currently fully staffed, Snow added.
However, Snow indicated that there are multiple ACSO deputies that are commuting back and forth from Durango for their shifts, “which is not sustainable,” she added.
Pagosa Springs Police Department Chief Bill Rockensock was in attendance and commented that the PSPD is also currently fully staffed, and has been for about six months, but before that had openings for almost four years.
Rockensock mentioned that historically it has been challenging for the PSPD to hire and retain employees that are not already living in the community, mostly due to new hires not being able to find affordable housing in Archuleta County.
Archuleta County Commissioner Veronica Medina, who was also in attendance, explained that a salary increase implemented for ACSO deputies last year has helped with staffing on their end, but they are still facing some challenges.
Rockensock agreed that salary increases in the PSPD have also helped with staffing recently.
Snow also mentioned there has been a transition over the past decade where more and more people are moving into Aspen Springs because they cannot afford to live in either uptown or downtown Pagosa Springs.
“We’re just seeing a huge shift over the last, I’d say, 10 years, where a lot of people who can’t afford to live in uptown or downtown are moving into Aspen Springs, but also the crime is moving with it,” she said.
Weiser brought up the possibility of having a co-responder program set up to respond to behavioral health calls.
The co-responder program was set up by the state in 2021 and “pairs law enforcement and behavioral health specialists to intervene and respond to behavioral health-related calls for police service,” according to the Colorado Behavioral Health Administration.
Rockensock indicated that there was a co-responder program in place, but it was difficult to maintain due to staffing and that responders were traveling from Durango to answer calls.
“We do not have the resources for it,” he said.
Weiser acknowledged Snow’s concerns for the mental health of the youth population and the drug problems in the community.
“We’re going to look to see how we can support youth mental health in whatever ways we can,” he said, adding, “We’re really committed to supporting you as you work through issues like the opioid crisis, like youth mental health.”
Pagosa Springs Medical Center CEO and Chief Medical Officer Rhonda Webb, also in attendance, commented on the mental health concerns in the community, and what PSMC is seeing.
Webb praised the community’s first responders, explaining how they always do a great job, even when short-staffed.
However, Webb mentioned that PSMC does not have any beds reserved for mental health patients.
“There is just nowhere, typically, for them to go,” she said. “It’s very challenging for all of us.”
Webb explained that PSMC has to transport mental health patients to the Front Range or to New Mexico.
“Mental health is getting worse, and there’s just not enough resources,” she added.
Weiser described what he heard about the Aspen Springs area as being “under-resourced” and “under-policed.”
He went on to mention that “probably every kid growing up there is struggling in some form,” whether it be food insecurity, lack of utilities or struggles getting to school.
“All of that creates more and more challenges … I’m feeling for those kids,” Weiser said.
Snow mentioned that Aspen Springs is a small community, but that it is growing.
Weiser suggested that the community look into establishing a Boys and Girls Club.
Pagosa Springs Community Development Corporation board member Sherry Waner indicated that the community has looked into establishing a Boys and Girls Club in the past, but there were not enough funds available.
She noted that it takes about $250,000 a year to run a Boys and Girls Club, “which you can not support and sustain in a community this small without some type of subsidized funding.”
PCI Executive Director Rebecca Tenpenny noted that PCI is 100 percent grant-funded.
Weiser closed out the discussion saying that he recognizes the needs here in the Pagosa Springs community, and that some things are going to take some time to address.
“When people think about Colorado, we think about the Southwest, I mean this is a special part of our state, and we need to do what we can to support those who are living here,” he said.
Weiser mentioned he believes the opposite of addiction is not just sobriety, but connection with family, friends and community.
“The youth mental health issue sounds like, in some cases really, really dire,” he said, explaining that the state will be working on a program to incorporate regional school cooperation to provide more youth mental health resources.
“You all have given me an incredible amount of valuable feedback, and I am going to keep reflecting on it,” Weiser said. “Know that as you’re working through these issues, if there’s areas that relate to the state, relate to legal issues, we’re here to help support and work with you on it.”
clayton@pagosasun.com
