The City of Grand Junction and Rocky Mountain Health Plans announced a $1 million dollar collaboration with Colorado Mesa University to support mental health services.

The city allocated $500,000 from American Rescue Plan Act funds to help graduates of the CMU masters of social work program repay student loans. Rocky Mountain Health Plans matched that funding to support mental health services.

“We are honored to support Colorado Mesa University’s master of social work student loan repayment program to help eligible graduates pay back student loans and launch their career right here in the Western Slope,” said Patrick Gordon, chief executive officer of Rocky Mountain Health Plans. “This shared commitment alongside the City of Grand Junction and CMU will help expand access to mental health care in the Grand Junction area by attracting and retaining highly skilled mental health professionals.”

The announcement was made during a discussion at CMU about the challenges of providing mental health services in rural areas.

CMU President John Marshall emphasized the effects of financial contributions that empower social workers to improve lives in the region. “Anybody who has been in this community for any amount of time knows that one of the leading leaders in this community for decades has been Rocky Mountain Health Plans. The number of lives that are going to be impacted in a positive way because of the contributions the city and Rocky are making is really staggering. It’s not just the individuals getting the loan assistance, but the number of lives that those people will touch. The multiplier is monumental.”

Randall Reitz, a member of the Grand Junction City Council, praised the effort. “For me, mental health and behavioral health has always been very personal. It’s been my profession, my life pursuit and trying to think how to use one-time funds to really advance the mental health of our community. And it just made complete sense for us to partner with CMU with their new MSW program to find ways to keep their graduates in town.”