Mental health resources for Colorado and the Four Corners

Small towns have fewer options, and the ones we have are worth knowing by name. These organizations serve La Plata, Montezuma, Archuleta, Dolores, and San Juan counties.

• Axis Health System. Community behavioral health, primary care, and dental across the region, including crisis care and Medicaid clients.
• 211 Colorado. Dial 211 or text your ZIP code to 898-211 for rent help, food, utilities, child care, and counseling referrals in your county.
• The Grief Center of Southwest Colorado (970-403-5230). Grief counseling and groups for kids, teens, and adults, regardless of ability to pay.
• Alternative Horizons (24-hour line 970-247-9619). Advocacy, court support, and legal help for people living with domestic violence in La Plata County.
• Sexual Assault Services Organization (SASO) (24-hour line 970-247-5400). Free, confidential support and advocacy for survivors, with offices in Durango and Ignacio.
• Animas Alano Club. A meeting house at 2601 Junction Street in Durango hosting more than 25 recovery meetings a week.

You can call any of these to ask questions. Nobody will tell you what to do or report anything without your say-so.

• Alternative Horizons (24-hour line 970-247-9619). Durango-based advocates for domestic violence, including safety planning and help with protection orders.
• Sexual Assault Services Organization (SASO) (24-hour line 970-247-5400). Local advocates who will meet you at the hospital, the police station, or nowhere at all if you’d rather just talk.
• National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788). 24/7 support, including for people who aren’t sure what’s happening to them counts.
• RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline (1-800-656-4673). Confidential support in English and Spanish, by phone or online chat, no matter how long ago it happened.
• StrongHearts Native Helpline (1-844-762-8483). Native-centered advocates for domestic and sexual violence, anonymous and 24/7.

A note on privacy: if someone monitors your devices, use a phone or computer they can’t see, and clear your browser history after visiting sites like these.

Different things work for different people, and plenty of people use more than one. Start wherever you’ll actually go.

• SAMHSA National Helpline (1-800-662-4357). Free, confidential treatment referrals, 24/7, in English and Spanish. They’ll talk to family members too.
• FindTreatment.gov. Search state-licensed treatment programs near you, from outpatient counseling to detox.
• Alcoholics Anonymous, District 18 (888-333-9649). The Southwest Colorado meeting schedule, plus a number you can call any hour.
• SMART Recovery. Free meetings built on practical skills rather than steps or higher powers, in person and online.
• Al-Anon Family Groups. For the people around the drinking. Free meetings, including ones held in Durango.
• Animas Alano Club. Durango’s recovery meeting house, hosting AA, Al-Anon, Overeaters Anonymous, and Gamblers Anonymous.

Grief doesn’t run on a schedule, and it doesn’t always need a therapist. Sometimes a room of people who get it does more.

• The Grief Center of Southwest Colorado (970-403-5230). Groups, counseling, school programs, and a summer camp for grieving kids, right here in Durango.
• AFSP Suicide Loss Support Groups. A searchable directory of groups for people who lost someone to suicide.
• The Dougy Center. Free podcasts, videos, and printable guides on how to talk with a grieving child at any age.
• Postpartum Support International (1-800-944-4773). Includes support specifically for pregnancy loss, stillbirth, and infant loss.

If you’re worried about your kid and don’t know what to do with that yet, these are good first calls.

• Second Wind Fund. Pays for up to 12 therapy sessions for Colorado youth at risk of suicide when money or insurance is the barrier. Parents and school staff can refer.
• Safe2Tell Colorado (1-877-542-7233). Anonymous 24/7 reporting for students and parents worried about a threat, bullying, or a kid in trouble.
• Crisis Text Line. Text HOME to 741741. Teens will often text when they won’t talk.
• The Trevor Project (1-866-488-7386, or text START to 678-678). Counselors trained specifically for LGBTQ+ young people.
• Postpartum Support International (1-800-944-4773, or text “Help” to the same number). Free online groups for new parents, including dads and partners.
• The Dougy Center. Straight answers on what to say to a child after a death in the family.

You don’t have to be enrolled in VA care, and you don’t have to have seen combat.

• Veterans Crisis Line. Dial 988 then press 1, text 838255, or chat online. Open to family and friends too.
• Durango VA Clinic. 1970 East Third Avenue, Suite 102, with same-day walk-in mental health care for PTSD, depression, grief, and anger.
• Vet Centers. Community counseling for combat veterans and their families, confidential and separate from your VA medical record.
• County Veterans Service Officers. Free help filing claims and figuring out what benefits you already have coming. La Plata County’s office is at 970-759-0117.

Plain-language information from organizations that aren’t selling anything. Useful before a first appointment, and useful for the family member trying to understand.

• NAMI HelpLine (1-800-950-6264, or text “NAMI” to 62640). Not a crisis line. A real person who will explain diagnoses, treatment options, and how to help a family member who won’t get help.
• Man Therapy. A Colorado-built self-assessment and resource site for men who wouldn’t be caught dead on a mental health website. Blunt, funny, and evidence-based.
• National Alliance for Eating Disorders (1-866-662-1235). A helpline answered by licensed therapists who specialize in eating disorders, plus a treatment finder.
• National Institute of Mental Health. Research-backed overviews of anxiety, depression, PTSD, ADHD, and more, without the clickbait.
• VA National Center for PTSD. The clearest explanation of trauma treatment out there, and it’s not just for veterans.

If we’re not the right fit, or our waitlist is longer than you can wait, these will help you find someone else.

• Open Path Collective. A one-time membership fee gets you sessions at $40 to $70 with vetted therapists. Built for people without insurance or without decent mental health coverage.
• FindTreatment.gov. SAMHSA’s search tool for state-licensed mental health and substance use programs near you.
• 211 Colorado. Dial 211 or text your ZIP code to 898-211. Connects you to free and low-cost services in your own county, not just the Front Range.
• Axis Health System. The region’s community health center. Sliding-scale and Medicaid options across the Four Corners.
• SAMHSA National Helpline (1-800-662-4357). Free referrals 24/7, whether or not you have insurance.