Happy Friday, Boulder. Here’s what’s up.

Today, freelance health reporter Claire Cleveland covers for us a local manifestation of a nationwide crisis: The number of Boulder County residents in need of mental health services has risen while providers remain in short supply. The burden of solving this problem for some Marshall Fire survivors has fallen on Jewish Family Service of Colorado — which runs a philanthropy-funded program providing survivors free counseling. While disaster recovery efforts typically focus on rebuilding homes and infrastructure, there is an increasing recognition of the need to help people recover mentally from the trauma of disasters. Yet the problem is far from solved. The recent one-year anniversary of the fire brought a surge of residents looking for mental health resources, stretching an already stretched program.

Also, the Boulder City Council has selected a likely location for a homeless day center to be opened by end of this year. And, there’s been a spike in fentanyl overdoses in Boulder as of late, leading Boulder Police to worry a new and dangerous strain is being sold. If you’re using recreational drugs, carrying Naloxone and knowing the signs of overdose can save your, or your friend’s, life.

Have a great weekend. I’ll see you Monday.

— Tim, reporter

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What to know today

  • Showers to bring future flowers: Though it’ll be in the 40s today, bask in the moisture. It means green vegetation is on the way, and hopefully reduced fire risk. For a spell.
  • City selects likely location for day services center: City of Boulder officials announced on Thursday they have identified a single-story brick office building at 1844 Folsom Street as the location for a day services center, where homeless people will be able to access a range of housing, legal, behavioral health and other services.
    • The city is planning to open the center by the end of this year. It is negotiating with the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless, a nonprofit that runs the city’s largest shelter in North Boulder, to be its operator.
    • The cost to purchase and redevelop the 6,000-square-foot building is estimated at $4-5 million, according to the city. Kurt Firnhaber, the city’s director of Housing and Human Services, told city councilmembers that the city may request that amount from the city’s general fund in the 2024 budget.
  • Four months into 2023, city’s eviction prevention money nearly out: As eviction case filings in Boulder County rise to the highest levels in years, the city’s eviction prevention program, which provides money to tenants and property owners to help cover rent, is nearly out of money, according to city officials.
    • “The demand for resources and preventing families from being homeless is vastly outpacing the resources that we have available. So that’s something we’re really concerned about,” Elizabeth Crowe, the city’s deputy director of Housing and Human Services told Boulder City Councilmembers on Thursday.
    • The city has already reduced total rental assistance payments to make its limited funds go further. The program is funded through a fee on rental licenses.
    • “Resources that we had budgeted for this whole year are really vanishing, very quickly,” Crowe said. “We’re exploring additional funding options and are also planning to adjust programs as necessary to make sure that what we do have will stretch as far as possible.”
  • Overdoses under investigation: Boulder police are investigating a series of suspected fentanyl-related overdoses that happened over the last few days. Five overdoses were reported, leading authorities to warn the public about a potential new type and/or tainted strain of fentanyl in the area. Boulder PD is asking for help with any information on who might be supplying these drugs. Since the beginning of the year, over 25 overdoses involving a variety of drugs have been documented by the Boulder PD, not counting unreported cases.
    • Over the past year, Colorado has seen a spike in fentanyl overdoses. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 50 to 100 times stronger than heroin or morphine. Drug dealers often mix fentanyl into other drugs because it’s cheap to make and highly potent. This is wildly dangerous, as users may not know they’re consuming fentanyl, leading to accidental overdoses and death. Counterfeit pills are especially dangerous, as they may contain lethal doses of fentanyl. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), nearly half of all counterfeit pills tested contain a lethal dose of fentanyl. Tips to stay safe: Assume any drug not purchased directly from a pharmacy could contain fentanyl, carry Naloxone (which you can find at these pharmacy locations), and be prepared to call for help in case of an overdose.
  • Electric landscaping put to the test: On Thursday, Boulder County’s Partners for a Clean Environment (PACE) put on an event to let local lawn care professionals dip their toes in the pool of electric equipment. There were burritos and beverages, electric machinery to test, and packets about financial assistance to help companies buy that machinery. But wariness permeated.
    • On April 27, city staff will present Boulder City Council with options and recommendations for how to deal with gas-powered lawn care equipment – whether banning gas-powered equipment through noise ordinances, encouraging companies to make the change on their own through incentives, or a measured approach somewhere in between. Read the full story.

Go Deeper…

More than a year into Marshall Fire recovery, a need that has grown more urgent: mental health providers

By Claire Cleveland

April 14, 2023

The destruction of the Marshall Fire triggered an outpouring of generosity. The more than $43 million raised by the Community Foundation Boulder County since the December 2021 wildfire likely set a record for local disaster philanthropy in the county. Much of the philanthropic dollars is helping homeowners rebuild physically the houses that were razed by flames. But some of the money was dedicated to helping survivors recover mentally, too, from the trauma of the fire amid compounding crises. 

Despite the benefits the funding has brought, the many months since the fire have revealed the significant mental health needs of the community and the resource limitations in addressing them.

Continue reading…

BRL Presenting Partners sponsor

Join us again at Boulder’s only large-scale, inclusive celebration of our community’s vibrant arts and cultural offerings and our city’s thriving creativity at the 10th Annual Boulder Arts Week from April 7 – 15, 2023. This year’s event includes art walks, exhibitions, performances, dance, music, theater, public art, lectures, readings, and workshops at venues throughout the city.

Get involved

🦋 Become a Pollinator Advocate: Cool Boulder has opened applications for its Pollinator Advocates program. For community members 18 and older who are selected, the training will teach how to create pesticide-free, native plant patches of habitat that will benefit local pollinators and song birds. A combination of classroom learning and “In-Habitat Training” sessions, trainees will learn about planting and plant maintenance, as well as communication skills and data collection.

Upon successful completion of the course, participants will receive a Pollinator Advocate Certificate and a free pallet worth $150 of wholesale-priced native plants to use however they please. The program does, however, require a significant time investment, with participants expected to volunteer in Boulder’s habitat spaces for a minimum of three hours a month from the spring through the fall, while also encouraging and teaching their neighbors and friends to grow their own habitats.

For ideas on what to do this week, check out BRL’s Local Events page.

ICYMI

Tim Drugan was a climate and environment reporter for Boulder Reporting Lab.