The Montezuma County Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved an application for a Colorado public health grant meant to fund the prevention of substance misuse, particularly among youths.
The “Elevating Prevention in Colorado” grant would fund two new staff positions, said Katy Maxwell, the county public health planner. The request totals more than $372,000 over five years, according to the application shared during Monday’s Board of County Commissioners workshop.
The grant would focus on outreach and education, particularly through partnerships with local schools, according to a written summary presented at the meeting.
A 2025 county health assessment found that 68% of 800 respondents identified substance use – including illegal drugs, alcohol and tobacco – as a top concern.
From 2020 to 2023, Montezuma County’s death rate from alcohol-related liver disease was 3.6 times the state average, the assessment says.
Funding would come from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
Maxwell said Healthy Montezuma, an existing public health program, has led substance misuse prevention efforts. Two full-time employees would strengthen those efforts, she said.
Commissioner Jim Candelaria asked how the program’s impact would be measured. Maxwell said one of the new hires would track progress.
Maxwell said part of the funding would “be looking at things like how many outreach events we’re attending, how many people we’re engaging in those things.”
“And then we also want to do pre- and post- surveys with the groups that we work with so that we can kind of look at those surveys as an ongoing measure of progress.”
