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NOTICE: The Community Behavioral Health Navigators are NOT AN EMERGENCY RESOURCE. If you are in crisis or in need of immediate support, please dial 911, the Colorado Crisis Line, or the Hope Center.
Accessing behavioral health services can seem daunting, but you don’t have to do it alone
Eagle Valley Behavioral Health has partnered with Eagle County Community Paramedics, the Katz Amsterdam Foundation and the Colorado Health Foundation to bring community behavioral health navigation services to the Eagle River Valley.
Eagle County now has two full-time Behavioral Health Navigators: Coco Andrade and Gladys Villa.
WHAT IS BEHAVIORAL HEALTH NAVIGATION?
Behavioral health navigation is a new and unique service that helps Eagle County residents navigate the complex system of mental health care and gets people connected to available resources when they experience barriers to access.
A BEHAVIORAL HEALTH NAVIGATOR CAN:
- Provide Short, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT)
- Help with making healthy choices
- Guide you toward positive thinking
- Assist with controlling anger
- Help manage stress
A BEHAVIORAL HEALTH NAVIGATOR DOES NOT PROVIDE:
- Mental health therapy
- Crisis services
- Case management for clients who are referred for social needs that are not primarily related to behavioral health (i.e. housing, food resources)
- Translation and interpretation (navigation services are available in Spanish)
- Legal services
Please note that this is a non-clinical service. Behavioral Health Navigators will provide supportive services and have extensive background in mental health, but they are not licensed therapists.
MEET COCO ANDRADE
Rocio “Coco” Andrade was born and raised in the Vail Valley. She graduated from Battle Mountain High School in 2015 and attended Colorado Mesa University as a Guardian Scholar. She graduated in 2018 with a BA in Criminal Justice. Coco is currently attending the University of Denver to obtain a Master of Social Work through their Western Slope program in Glenwood Springs. As a forensic social worker, Coco is also an intern for the Office of the Alternate Defense Counsel whose goal is to provide incarcerated individuals with the best legal representation.
Coco’s family is from Zacatecas, Mexico; she’s a native Spanish speaker and the first person in her family to graduate from college. She has never been to the beach in Mexico, loves Mexico City and loves tacos al pastor. Growing up in the valley, she was able to be part of many programs. Her favorite program is The Cycle Effect; she has been part of this program since she was 13 years old. She’s a dog mom to an American Bully named Zeus, who is one-year-old and is 70 pounds. She loves mountain biking, playing soccer, reading books and going on walks with her dog. In her free time she loves to play sudoku, complete search crossword puzzles and complete puzzles.
MEET DIANA BONILLA
Diana was born and raised in San Jose, Costa Rica; and recently moved to the Vail Valley. She graduated from a Scientific Bilingual High School in 2011 and was part of the Biology and Chemistry Olympics Team. She attended University of Costa Rica and graduated in 2016 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Health: Health Promotion. As a Health Promoter, Diana worked with special needs students and their parents, helped develop training guidelines on the topics of Early Detection of Suicide Patterns and
Protocols for counselors and teachers as well. She is an eager learner and plans on starting and completing her Master’s Degree in the Mental Health field very soon.
Diana is a native Spanish speaker. She loves going to the beach and listening to the ocean. She enjoys reading during her free time, watching shows with her husband and spending time with her family and
friends. Diana also loves the outdoors, and the various activities that are here in these beautiful mountains. She also enjoys walking her and her husband’s German Shepherd Dog. Diana is also very passionate about helping her community and neighbors, and feels very strongly about having an occupation that helps people in need.
Diana has strong values, and always does what is right. Honesty, integrity and having a strong work ethic is something that Diana prides herself on. She is very organized and thorough and believes in hard work, perseverance and social justice and equality for all. She also believes that every single person on this earth is worthy of a second or third chance, and even though mistakes may be made, each day is a new day and a new opportunity to be a better version of themselves and grow as a human being.
MEET GLADYS TELLEZ-VILLA
Gladys was born in the mountains of Chihuahua; this year will be her 20th year in the mountains of Eagle River Valley. She graduated as a Battle Mountain High School Husky in 2014, became a Guardian Scholar and continued her education at Colorado Mesa University where she pursued her passion for helping others. She graduated with a Bachelor in Social Work in 2017. She is the first person in her family to go to college; she’s now pursuing a Master of Social Work at the University of Denver’s Western Colorado Program.
After college, Gladys returned to the valley to work at Youth Power 365, a program in which she was a participant. Her favorite programs were Girl PowHER, academic soccer and the mentor’s program. After that, Gladys moved to Denver where she worked at the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless as a case manager for families in permanent housing. Living in the city taught her more about social justice, compassion and patience (especially during traffic hours). She is a life-long learner and enjoys reading during her free time. Her self-care includes exercise and baking (she almost went to culinary school). Gladys is happiest when she is around her loved ones and enjoys watching crime series on her free time. If she could have dinner with a celebrity she would sit with Michelle Obama and Harriet Tubman.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH NAVIGATORS:
WHERE WILL THE NAVIGATOR WORK?
The Behavioral Health Navigators are housed at Eagle County Paramedic Services in Edwards but will also travel around to different partner agencies to support other agency’s clients.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO USE THE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH NAVIGATORS?
The Behavioral Health Navigators’ services are supported by a grant from Eagle Valley Behavioral Health (EVBH) and the Katz Amsterdam Foundation, so it is completely free for the community to use.
IS THE NAVIGATOR BILINGUAL?
Yes, our Behavioral Health Navigators are fully bilingual in both Spanish and English.
DOES THE NAVIGATOR PROVIDE THERAPY?
No, this is a non-clinical position which means that while the Behavioral Health Navigator will provide supportive services, they are not therapy services. While our Behavioral Health Navigators have extensive backgrounds in mental health, they are not licensed as therapists.
GET SERVICES FROM OUR BEHAVIORAL HEALTH NAVIGATORS
PLEASE CLICK HERE AND FILL OUT A REFERRAL FORM to get connected and obtain navigation services
(Please note that the Behavioral Health Navigator is NOT AN EMERGENCY RESOURCE. If you are in crisis or needing support immediately, please dial 911 or call Colorado Crisis Services 1-844-493-8255)