Katherine Harvey, rural strategies specialist for the Colorado Office of Suicide Prevention, told a statewide workgroup that the state is expanding local suicide-prevention efforts targeted to rural and agricultural communities and is focusing on community connection, firearms safety outreach and training for clinical and nonclinical responders.

The announcement matters because Colorado ranks among the 10 states with the highest suicide rates, data presented by Harvey showed, and the state has programs (including the Colorado National Collaborative and local ‘‘Coffee Break’’ peer-support groups) intended to reach farmworkers, veterans and other rural residents who face high isolation and barriers to care.

Harvey said the Office funds coalitions and local organizations in all 64 Colorado counties and has just added 12 counties in the Eastern Plains to receive implementation funding. She described a six-pillar model used locally — connection, stabilization supports, education and awareness, training for clinicians, post-intervention coordination after a loss, and targeted outreach such as firearm-safety materials at gun shops and fairs.

Harvey highlighted several statewide resources that county coalitions and providers can use: the national suicide hotline at 988, the iMatter program that offers free counseling sessions for youth, a searchable provider database, and public campaigns to reduce stigma. She also noted specialized outreach like the Coffee Break Project, which supports peer groups in farming communities, and a project that places locally trusted firearms owners in outreach roles to discuss safe storage.

Harvey summarized recent data and risk patterns she presented: Colorado was ranked 10th among states for suicide rates in 2022; in occupational categories tied to agriculture, firearms accounted for a larger share of deaths than the statewide average; and “La mayor parte de la gente que muere por suicidio no tienen un diagnóstico de salud mental, nunca han sido visto un proveedor” (most people who die by suicide do not have a documented mental-health diagnosis and have not seen a provider), underscoring the program emphasis on nonclinical community supports.

Presenters and participants discussed steps to ensure local coalitions represent Spanish-speaking residents and other demographic groups. Workgroup members said recently awarded county grants include requirements describing how grantees will include Indigenous, Black and Spanish-speaking representatives on local coalitions in jurisdictions with those populations.

Participants asked how counties can be added to funded lists and voiced concern about sustainability. Harvey and other presenters said some current programs are contingent on federal dollars and that funds for several pilot grants or expansions are not yet secured. Separately, earlier in the meeting, Kim Miller of Colorado (the Colorado Farm Bureau) reported that an agrobility voucher program (CAM) that provides up to six free vouchers for farmers to access behavioral-health services was spared a proposed $50,000 cut and will receive funds for at least two more years; Miller said a member of Congress indicated intent to pursue legislation to make the funding permanent.

During the open Q&A, participants raised representation for Spanish-speaking farmworkers and asked for criteria and timelines for adding counties; presenters said they will notify the workgroup when federal award decisions are final and encouraged local partners to apply when funding opportunities open.

The session closed with presenters directing attendees to resources on the Behavioral Health Administration performance site, encouraging feedback on metrics, and offering follow-up information by email and in the meeting chat.