Janette Keene Taylor, Nederland. Two local organizations are focusing on bringing human services assistance to mountain residents. They are the Peak to Peak Housing and Human Services Alliance, and the Nederland Food Pantry. Not all of these Human Services are solely directed at residents who are struggling with limited income; some of them are focused toward the community as a whole. 

Some examples of recent Peak to Peak Housing and Human Service Alliances’ work are:

* The Mammogram Mobile Unit from St. Joseph’s Hospital came to Nederland on July 18. 24 3D mammograms were performed on local residents. We are working to get the Mobile Unit to Lyons and Allenspark as well, and come back to Nederland in six months. 

* The Mobile Dental Center will bring up a dental van on August 7th, which features a hygienist and a dentist, x-ray, and full practice options of everything except dentures. The Mobile Dental Center takes most insurances, Medicaid, Medicare Advantage and does a generous sliding scale for self pay. The Center will be making regular visits to Nederland if enough patients need it.

* A Suicide Prevention Workshop, open to the public, will take place at the Nederland Community Center on August 12 at 6:30 p.m.

* Kristi Venditti, the Mountain Liaison for the southern part of the Peak to Peak area (Ward, Nederland, mid-Gilpin, Coal Creek, Jamestown and Gold Hill), has increased her hours with the Emergency Family Assistance Association to full time. Kristi keeps hours in the Nederland Community Center, travels to other towns, and helps people connect with all types of assistance from the county, state and federal governments as well as non-profits. To reach Kristi: Kristi@efaa.org  (303) 717-9396.

* Rebecca Major, the Mountain Liaison for the northern part of the Peak to Peak area (Lyons, Allenspark, Raymond). Rebecca works with the OUR Center in Longmont. If you live in the northern part of the county, reach Rebecca: Rebecca@ourcenter.org or 303-525-3106.

* Emergency Preparedness efforts include putting together as Asset Mapping project with the University of Colorado Natural Hazards Department, and working with Boulder County toward providing expanded disaster storage throughout the Peak to Peak.

Also, Dennis Whalen, board chair of the Nederland Food Pantry and chair of the Peak to Peak Housing and Human Services Alliance, recently served on a panel at the University of Colorado’s Natural Hazards Conference. He discussed the importance of having local human service agencies involved in disasters and how the Peak to Peak Alliance and the Nederland Food Pantry have achieved that goal. Attendees such as representatives of FEMA, US Department of Health and Human Services, and the Centers for Disease Control, agreed on the need of human service agencies being involved in disaster response, but noted the difficulty they’re experiencing in obtaining the funding for this much needed participation.

The Nederland Food Pantry, a 30-year-old local non-profit

The Nederland Food Pantry, which serves residents of the area with 7 opportunities to supplement their food needs each month, and maintains the Clothing Closet and the Food Pantry Gardens, has over 500 visits from area residents each month, and the number is rising. It also provides Human Services access to the entire community. 

The last Thursday of each month, representatives of Boulder County Human Services & the Area Agency on Aging gather in the Multipurpose Room of the Nederland Community Center during the Food Pantry Distribution, as well as representatives of various non-profits, including the Center for People with Disabilities, the EFAA Mountain Resources Liaison and various other non-profits. There is also a counselor from Peak to Peak Counseling to make recommendations on mental health care. 

Some of the information people can attain at this “Mini-Human Services Fair” (note that the full “Human Services Fair” takes place in November, and features 25+ organizations) include:

Financial counseling, emergency financial assistance, child care assistance information (CCAP),  eligibility for SNAP (Food Stamps) and other programs, support and care for people with disabilities, senior living information, and advice on working with Care Connect for health insurance and other county departments. 

Mountain residents who need to learn about opportunities for assistance are being provided more chances near home. However, if there are other ways that you, your friends and neighbors know that your human services coordinators can help, please let us know! To communicate that information, please email Janette.Taylor@Forethought.net or call me during business hours at 303-258-3586. Leave a message and I’ll return your call. 

(Originally published in the July 25, 2019, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)