Colorado to launch mental health homes program: "Can't even think about your next move because you are still trying to recover"
If you ask someone who's struggling what they need to get back on their feet, mental health support is often on the list.
"Of course it's needed," one man told CBS News Colorado reporter Karen Morfitt.
He asked to remain anonymous but shared his thoughts and what he sees living on the street.
"You can't even think about your next move because you are still trying to recover from the last move," he said.
Mental health advocates agree there are several barriers when it comes to mental support including access to the right services.
"We have a pretty big gap in services in particularly those residential services," Bonnie Wright, director of Colorado's Mental Health Transitional Living Program said.
After years of planning, the program is set to open its first home in the fall.
Working with private care companies, they've set a goal of having enough property across the state to offer 125 beds for care.
"Right now, they are all single-family homes they have. It's really intended to be very home-like. There could be apartments, or townhomes but it is supposed to mimic a home life environment," Wright said.
They'll serve as a place where people who don't reach the threshold for intensive in-patient mental health care but need more then basic community services can find support, particularly when they hit a roadblock in their progress.
"There is someone there to talk through that with them, versus in the traditional community settings, they don't have that," Wright said.
Without that step, getting life back on track can be more of a fight.
Said the man we interviewed earlier: "It's like you stuck in one spot."
