Mental health care demand has grown urgent since Marshall fire

The destruction of the Marshall Fire triggered an outpouring of generosity. The more than $43 million raised by the Community Foundation Boulder County since the December 2021 wildfire likely set a record for local disaster philanthropy in the county. 

Much of the philanthropic money is helping homeowners rebuild physically the houses that were razed by flames. But some of the money was dedicated to helping survivors recover mentally, too, from the trauma of the fire amid compounding crises. 

Despite the benefits the funding has brought, the many months since the fire have revealed the significant mental health needs of the community and the resource limitations in addressing them.

“We were already a community that was in crisis and traumatized from a…