Rocky Mountain Voice

Menu

Tag: Mental health

Young Americans are dropping trans and queer labels, study finds sharp cultural shift
No Comments
The Western Journal, Approved, National

Young Americans are dropping trans and queer labels, study finds sharp cultural shift

By Bryan Chai | The Western Journal Critics of transgenderism have often described the trend as a “social contagion.” A blistering new report from the Centre for Heterodox Social Science just gave that label newfound heft. In short, the report found that, after surging in the 2010s and 2020s, trans and “queer” identities are in sharp decline among young Americans. Colleges — typically maligned as being the breeding ground for far-leftism in 2025 — saw the number of trans-identifying students cut nearly in half after its peak in 2023. That year, nearly 7 percent of college students identified as trans. That number now sits at less than 4 percent. The report also made a point to note that that percentage could drop even further soon: “Today’s freshmen are less BTQ...
Read More
Power first, children last: The true legacy of Randi Weingarten’s teachers union
No Comments
TownHall.com, Approved, Commentary, National

Power first, children last: The true legacy of Randi Weingarten’s teachers union

By Natalya Murakhver | Commentary, Townhall When America looks back at the COVID era, history will not be kind to Randi Weingarten and the American Federation of Teachers. At a time when our nation’s children needed leadership, compassion, and courage, Weingarten delivered none of it. Instead, she manipulated the crisis of school closures to expand her own political influence, sacrificing the futures of millions of kids and betraying the trust of parents across this country. Let’s be clear: school closures were not primarily about health or science. They were about power. From the very beginning, teachers’ unions lobbied aggressively to keep schools closed far longer than necessary. They pressured public health officials and the CDC to rewrite guidelines in ways that served union int...
Read More
Supreme Court to Weigh Colorado Ban on Therapy for Gender Identity Counseling
No Comments
CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Supreme Court to Weigh Colorado Ban on Therapy for Gender Identity Counseling

By Anna Alejo | CBS Colorado On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on a case set to determine if Colorado's ban on so-called "conversion therapy" for minors violates the free speech clause of the First Amendment. The Lee family in Wellington filed an amicus brief in support of overturning Colorado's ban on the therapy. A Colorado law passed in 2019 restricts therapists from trying to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of kids under the age of 18. They opposed the law after they say it limited access for their daughter to receive therapy that met their family's needs. "They are forbidden by law from going down that path of helping a child through their gender confusion versus further into that confusion and so there's been lots of paren...
Read More
Supreme Court case claims Colorado’s conversion therapy ban erases gay identity, silences counselors
No Comments
Washington Examiner, Approved, National

Supreme Court case claims Colorado’s conversion therapy ban erases gay identity, silences counselors

By Mia Cathell | Washington Examiner A controversial Supreme Court case challenging a ban on so-called conversion therapy, as it pertains to treating transgender children, is attracting unlikely allies. At issue in Chiles v. Salazar, soon to be argued before the Supreme Court, is whether a Colorado law prohibiting “conversion therapy” for pediatric patients unconstitutionally restricts a counselor’s free speech rights, via viewpoint discrimination, when that therapist wants to counsel children experiencing gender dysphoria toward embracing their biological sex. A number of traditionally progressive third parties are siding with the plaintiff, Kaley Chiles, a licensed Christian counselor who nudges clients to “live consistently with God’s design.”...
Read More
Lawmakers Face Public Backlash After Violent Suspect Freed Under New Incompetency Law
No Comments
Colorado Politics, Approved, Local

Lawmakers Face Public Backlash After Violent Suspect Freed Under New Incompetency Law

By Marissa Ventrelli | Colorado Politics A high-profile case out of Weld County involving an attempted murder has renewed debate about the state’s competency laws and public safety. The case arose from an incident last spring, in which a group of men led by 21-year-old Debisa Ephraim allegedly attacked a man and his friends in downtown Greeley. After Ephraim was found incompetent to stand trial, his charges, which included attempted murder, were dropped, and he was released from the Weld County Jail earlier this month. The office of Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams posted a video of the Greeley attack on X, saying Ephraim had been released under a 2024 law that, he said, required individuals declared incompetent and unlikely to be restored to be released from jail. “The state le...
Read More
New Study: Colorado’s Mental Health Status Among Nation’s Worst
No Comments
The Denver Gazette, Approved, State

New Study: Colorado’s Mental Health Status Among Nation’s Worst

By Debbie Kelley | The Denver Gazette For two years in a row, Colorado has had nearly the worst rate in the nation of mental illness among children and adults, when compared with other states and the District of Columbia, according to a large-scale industry study. Colorado ranks 50th — or second to last — for the prevalence of any mental health conditions in the 2025 State of Mental Health in America reports, the most recent version being released Wednesday. Vincent Atchity, president and CEO at Denver-based Mental Health Colorado, one of 140 affiliates of Mental Health America, which produces the annual analysis, isn’t surprised. Colorado has hovered near the bottom of the rankings for years in prevalence of mental problems and despite improving its standing to 14th best ...
Read More
UNC Dorm Gun Case Spurs Sheriff’s Push to Fix Colorado Competency Loophole
No Comments
kdvr.com, Approved, Local

UNC Dorm Gun Case Spurs Sheriff’s Push to Fix Colorado Competency Loophole

By Heather Willard, Vicente Arenas | KDVR FOX31 DENVER (KDVR) — A man accused of carrying a long gun onto the University of Northern Colorado’s campus in Greeley appeared in court on Thursday for a bond hearing, just weeks after he was released from the Weld County Jail. Ephraim Debisa, 21, was released from jail on Sept. 8 after he was found not competent to stand trial in an attempted murder case, as is required by Colorado law. When he was released, the Weld County Sheriff’s Office issued a warning to the community, calling Debisa “dangerous” and highlighting his alleged previous violent actions. On Wednesday, the Weld County Sheriff’s Office announced Debisa was re-arrested at his home after a report of him inside a UNC residence hall holding a long gun on Tuesday. Accordin...
Read More
Colorado experts share warning signs and steps to prevent school shootings
No Comments
CBS News, Approved, State

Colorado experts share warning signs and steps to prevent school shootings

By Alan Gionet | CBS Colorado Two weeks after the shooting at Evergreen High School, students are heading back to classes. It comes as parents and students continue to wonder about the possibility that there may have been ways to stop the shooter who injured two fellow students before taking his own life. "You don't ever want to be that individual that an active shooting happens... and you find out who it is, and you go, 'I knew that was going to happen. I knew it, right?' You gotta' live with that," said AJ DeAndrea, a former deputy police chief with the Arvada Police Department who now runs a safety consulting and training company and has reviewed such shootings to assess threats. His message is for parents, students, and community members who may have fears that someone may be ...
Read More
A Senior’s Perspective: Fear, Hope, And The Path Forward At Evergreen
No Comments
kdvr.com, Approved, Local

A Senior’s Perspective: Fear, Hope, And The Path Forward At Evergreen

By Hanna Powers | KDVR FOX31 EVERGREEN, Colo. (KDVR) — Students at Evergreen High School are taking their first careful steps back onto campus just over two weeks after a shooting that left the community shaken. Senior Sylvia Howell said the return will be filled with hugs, tears and a shared sense of healing. “I think there’s going to be a lot of hugs, maybe some tears, which has been kind of the story of the last few weeks,” Howell said. The Jefferson County School District is staggering the reopening to support students and staff. Monday: Staff returned to prepare classrooms. Early this week: Parent information sessions held. Thursday and Friday: Optional half days welcome students back for the first time. Howell said she plans to be there. “I think it’s import...
Read More
Kids’ mental health ER visits jumped 26% at Children’s Hospital Colorado this summer
No Comments
The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Kids’ mental health ER visits jumped 26% at Children’s Hospital Colorado this summer

By Erica Breunlin | The Colorado Sun Summer usually marks a quiet time for mental health programs at Children’s Hospital Colorado. This year, the hospital system saw more students with more severe struggles. A surge of kids struggling with mental health crises spent part of their summer in the emergency department at Children’s Hospital Colorado — a season medical professionals say is typically quiet with a lull in patients. Children’s Hospital Colorado reported a 26% uptick in children showing up at the emergency department because of mental health challenges between June and July this year compared with the same timeframe last year. And the number of kids needing inpatient care at the hospital system jumped more than 55% from 2020 to 2024, according to data provided by the hospi...
Read More