SpeakUp ReachOut Reflects on 15 Years of Working to Prevent Suicide in Eagle County

Corey Lamothe had very personal reasons for helping start SpeakUp ReachOut 15 years ago. Sadly, Lamothe’s brother died by suicide in 2014. At the time, there were few resources for him to seek out, and fewer still for her and her grieving family.

She’s pleased with the way the organization has grown.

The biggest change over the years has been resources. Erin Ivie, executive director, said when she started as a part-time employee, the annual budget was about $50,000. That annual budget today is about $750,000, thanks to grants, donations and proceeds from Eagle County’s sales tax on marijuana sales. That tax, passed by county voters in 2017, generates about $1.2 million per year for local mental health efforts.

This tax, followed by some high-profile incidents, including the 2018 death by suicide of 13-year-old Olivia Ortega, led to the 2020 creation of Olivia’s  Fund, which provides up to six no-cost therapy sessions for anyone unable to otherwise afford that help.

Lamothe said during that time county and municipal governments, along with Vail Health, “were really starting to listen and pay attention. … People saw the need for change.”

Chris Lindley is the Chief Population Officer at Vail Health. He said progress on behavioral health and suicide prevention over the past five years has been “transformative.”

While there’s been a lot of time and effort put into helping prevent suicide, it’s hard to measure success. But, Ivie noted, Colorado is one of the only states that hasn’t seen an increase in suicides in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Moving into the future, Ivie said she would like to see SpeakUp ReachOut do more to help build community connections and the “epidemic” of loneliness. And the work to help those in crisis will continue.

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