Funded Projects

Gunnison Valley Prescription for the Arts

Project Year

2026

City & State

Gunnison, Colorado

Program Name

Implementation

Topic

Mental Health (LHI)

Program Description

Problem: Lack of options to support children and adolescents experiencing mental health challenges in our community.  Children and adolescents do not always want to engage in traditional therapy, may avoid mental health care due to perceived stigma, or may not have an identifiable diagnosis, but still report poor mental health.    

Primary setting: The towns of Gunnison and Crested Butte, CO and the immediate surrounding area.  Based on population data, this area is classified as a frontier with Extreme Access Considerations.  Number of children affected: There are approximately 2000 school-age children in the Gunnison Valley with about 600 of those children in this project's target age group of 10-14.  

Project goal: This project aims to create a program that identifies youth with social, emotional, or mental health challenges and connects them with a local artist to promote engagement in creative expression.  Such engagement has been shown to improve mental health by reducing stress, improving mood, and increasing emotional resilience.  By involving local artists, I hope to increase community engagement, leading to program longevity and community buy-in.  The bulk of the cost of the program will go toward artist compensation as a recognition of their effort and the importance of art in our community.  Since the artists are not expected to have a therapeutic or mental health background, they will be asked to complete a trauma training session to give them support in responding to a child who may express difficult emotions or talk about traumatic events.    

Proposed intervention: This program will allow health care providers to identify children and adolescents with mental health challenges and provide them with a "Prescription for the Arts."  This prescription will give the participant access to 6 individual sessions with a local artist with expertise in the child's chosen area of artistic interest.  This includes visual arts (clay, painting, drawing, jewelry), performance arts (dance, drama), and music.  

Anticipated outcomes: By the end of the child's participation in the program, I hope to show improvement in objective measures of mental health and child flourishing.  Additionally, the artists will be surveyed to assess their enjoyment of the program, any benefits they derive from participating, and suggestions for the future of the program.

Project Goal

Gunnison Valley Prescription for the Arts will allow health care providers to identify children between the ages of 10 and 14 with mental health challenges or who are otherwise not flourishing and provide them with a prescription for individual sessions with an local artist, utilizing the evidence-based power of creative expression to reduce stress, improve mood, and build emotional resilience. 

Project Objective 1

By the end of the first quarter of 2027, at least 5 participants will complete the Prescription for the Arts program.

Project Objective 2

Upon completion of the program, participants will show improvement in at least one domain of the Child Flourishing Index, as scored by their parent or caregiver.

Project Objective 3

Within 6 months of program start, feedback will be collected from at least 2 participating artists regarding how the program has impacted their feeling of community engagement.

AAP District

District VIII

Institutional Name

Gunnison Valley Health

Contact 1

Amanda Hill, MD