As Colorado LGBTQ+ people face a mental health crisis and hurtful rhetoric, voices rise above the hate

Lindsey Whittington, CHI’s Data and Analysis Manager, sat down with Denver7 reporter Jeff Anastasio to discuss belonging, findings from the 2023 Colorado Health Access Survey (CHAS), and hurtful rhetoric during Pride month.

For the story, Whittington shared CHI’s findings that 54% of LGBTQ+ Colorado adults reported poor mental health, defined as feeling depressed, stressed, or having other emotional problems for eight or more days during the last month. LGBTQ+ Coloradans are also more likely to be uninsured and less likely to report being able to get mental health care services when they need them.

“If an individual in an area that doesn't have that kind of support, doesn't feel like they belong and that they really are the 'other' in that community," they told Anastasio, "I think that has such a big impact on how someone kind of moves through their life and how they not only feel about themselves, and what that impact is on their mental health, and other components of their health.”