The Longevity Project is an annual campaign to drive discussion about what it takes to live a long, fulfilling life in our valley. This year’s project focuses on mental health. The Aspen Times and Glenwood Springs Post-Independent are partnering over the next month and will explore topics in mental health including resources (Aug. 27), substance abuse (Sept. 3), suicide prevention (Sept. 10) and law enforcement (Sept. 17).
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The stoke is high for year 29 of the Mother of All Ascensions, a longtime Snowmass Village Mardi Gras tradition that brings costumed uphillers in pursuit of elevation gain and glory to the base of Fanny Hill for the race up to the High Alpine restaurant (formerly known as Gwyn’s High Alpine).
“I’m just so stoked, and thrilled, (and) grateful, blessed that we were able to pull this one together, because we haven’t missed a year,” said Andrew Bielecki, the event’s organizer. He’s been running the race since 1993, a year after it was founded by Patrick Long, Joel Gorton and Jeff Tippett.
As much as anyone else, Dr. Greg Balko is tired of the pandemic.
The emergency medicine physician and director of board at Aspen Valley Hospital said that he and other health care workers on the front lines in Aspen are experiencing the same pandemic fatigue that has wearied many in the face of COVID-19.
“We’re able to keep up with the caseload, but it’s just mentally getting old at this point,” Balko said. “We’re just as tired of it as everybody else is, but it is what it is.”
Balko said he understands the desire to travel, to get out and do things. He feels it too.
April Brooks, a crisis clinician and therapist at the Aspen Hope Center, has been helping people struggling with mental health during this difficult year in the Roaring Fork Valley on Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times)
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, fear and uncertainty defined 2020 and shaped the landscape of mental health services this year.
“A lot of people aren’t leaving their home, and they’re scared, and it’s affecting mental health completely,” said April Brooks, a crisis clinician and therapist at the Aspen Hope Center. “You walk past someone on the street and they kind of jump off the sidewalk. How do we respond to that?”