A blue pinwheel garden is pictured on the corner of Lake Dillon Drive and Village Place in Dillon on Wednesday, March 31. The pinwheels are meant to serve as a symbol of the healthy and happy childhoods the community can work toward for the area s youths.
Photo by Sawyer D Argonne / sdargonne@summitdaily.com
The past year has been difficult for many, but as the calendar turns over to April, local advocacy groups are asking community members to turn their attention to ensuring the well-being of children in the county.
On March 23, the Summit Board of County Commissioners passed a resolution proclaiming April as Child Abuse Prevention Month, part of a nationwide effort to raise awareness about the importance of communities working together to prevent child abuse and neglect.
Photo by Sawyer D’Argonne / sdargonne@summitdaily.com
Bipartisan lawmakers are hoping to push a bill through the Colorado House of Representatives that would expand the Colorado Department of Local Affairs’ Peace Officer Mental Health Grant program, which helps to fund initiatives like Summit County’s SMART team.
After facing some opposition from community members, bill sponsors Rep. Julie McCluskie, of Dillon, and Rep. Hugh McKean were able to work with concerned stakeholders to add amendments that ultimately allowed the bill to pass through the House Public & Behavioral Health & Human Services Committee. McCluskie said getting over the first hurdle gave her confidence the bill would stand a good chance of eventually becoming law.
Photo by Joe Kusumoto / Breckenridge Creative Arts
As restrictions loosen and the weather warms, more people are venturing out of the confines of their homes to resume favorite pastimes or pick up a new hobby. Art studios are ramping up in-person classes and workshops to provide a creative outlet. in Frisco has offered drop-in classes since opening in 2018, and making tie-dye shirts outside has been a common summer sighting, but winter activity slowed down until the holidays. Drop-in classes now take place in the upstairs studio loft, and The Sunny Side Up Studio owner Ashlie Weisel said the format has been working well.
Screenshot from behavioral health town hall
It’s no secret that the pandemic has had an adverse effect on the mental health of people across the world. has been able to quantify some of the demand for resources, showing that the need for mental support in 2020 was much higher than that of the past two years.
At a Summit County Government town hall on Friday, Feb. 19, Kellyn Ender, program manager for Building Hope, presented on the nonprofit’s mental health scholarship program statistics.
According to the presentation, the number of therapy sessions utilized through the program in 2020 surpassed those in 2019. It reached a high in October with almost 450 sessions used through the program.
Building Hope Summit County
Frisco Town Manager Nancy Kerry stands in front of a photo of her son, Dustin, who died by suicide in 2013 at age 34. She is sharing her story as part of the Faces of Hope series, a partnership between Building Hope Summit County and the Summit Daily News.
Photo by Liam Doran / Liam Doran Photography
Nancy Kerry sees beauty in things big and small from the boundless love she feels for her newly adopted Great Pyrenees, Bella, to the delicate patterns in the snow carved by the wind’s endless breath.
“Just look at how beautiful this all is,” Nancy said, lifting her arms from the earth to the sky, on a hike up Miners Creek Road in Frisco, where she has been the town manager for two years.