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Organizers recommend more networking, Spanish sessions and improved translation in next ag behavioral health summit
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Summary
Rocky Mountain Farmers Union and Behavioral Health Administration reviewed the inaugural summit, urged spending available grant funds before July, and recommended more networking time, better Spanish‑language access and a possible one‑day format next year; BHA also finalized an outreach plan with measurable goals.
Carlisle Stewart of the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union presented a post‑summit report to the working group, summarizing attendee feedback and available funds organizers want to allocate before July.
Stewart said about 62 people attended the inaugural behavioral health summit and that a combination of unfrozen federal funding and Colorado‑based contributions left organizers with additional resources to spend down in the months ahead. "We're in a position where we're trying to allocate a lot of these funds and spend it down before the month of July," he told the group, and invited partners to contact him about project ideas that fit the grant parameters.
Survey feedback and planning‑committee reflections included a desire for more networking and workshopping time (15‑minute rotations were judged too short), better translation practices (some Spanish‑language presentations felt difficult to follow), and consideration of charging a small registration fee to improve turnout. Stewart noted one concrete accessibility suggestion: provide earpieces for simultaneous translation rather than relying on a single stream that can be hard to follow.
In a related presentation, Liz Thomas (Behavioral Health Administration) walked the group through the finalized outreach plan and strategic outreach plan for 2026, which added definitions for behavioral health and agriculture, measurable goals to track subcommittee progress, and an expansion of core audiences to include veterans, older adults and youth. Thomas said outreach materials and the strategic plan are available in the group's shared drive and will be circulated after the meeting.
Why it matters: the funding and summit lessons affect how organizers will structure future events and distribute resources for programs serving agricultural communities across Colorado. Organizers said they will follow up with an RFP process and that Rocky Mountain Farmers Union will likely submit a proposal to run future summit activities.
Next steps: Carlisle will share the summit report directly and post it in the meeting follow‑up; BHA will circulate the outreach documents and convene subcommittees to translate goals into measurable action.
