public health child health survey: 10 years and growing · 2018. 10. 6. · and jumps ahead.”...

2 | NEWSLink May and June 2014

Coming to the department March and April 2014

AdministrationRobin Howard, accountantPatricia Marnette, program assistantCaitlin Tiehen, administrative assistant Monica Wilkerson, general professionalPatricia Yoder, accountant

Air Pollution ControlBrett Harkwell, physical scientist researcherTimothy Howard, environmental protection specialist

Health & Environ. Information & StatisticsRafael Ramirez, technician

Health FacilitiesTheresa Lobue, health professionalPamela Murray, health professional

Lab ServicesRoxanne Ceullar, program assistantLauren Farnsworth, physical science researcherRachel Rodriguez, engineer

Prevention ServicesAngela Fellers-Lemir, nurse consultantSara Jestrab, program assistantZoe Swaine, statistical analystCatherine Townley, general professional

Water Quality ControlMeghan Shirley, environmental protection specialistBrandon Vaught, technician

Leaving the department March and April 2014

AdministrationRobin Cook, general professionalDebbie Lopez, program assistantLorena Zimmer, general professional

Air Pollution Control Marcus Aguilar, environmental protection specialistTerry Furuli, general professional

Disease Control & Environ. EpidemiologyTalitha Appel, health professionalRebecca Belles, health professionalMolly Bush-Hoffman, management

Hazardous Materials Nicholas Boudreau, environmental protection specialistChastiti Etherton, environmental protection specialistRoger Doak, environmental protection specialistKatherine Lemon, general professional

PEOPLE

30 yearsDavid Smith, general professional

25 yearsMishelle Macias, general professionalCandace Vonderwahl, general professionalElizabeth Williams, general professional

20 yearsTimothy Massangale, general professionalEdward Stroud, environental protection specialistAdam Taubman, engineer

15 yearsCheryl Cassell, general professionalMechele Clark, general professionalPatricia Holguin, general professionalShannon McMillan, general professional

10 yearsChad DeVolin, environmental protection specialistMichael Harris, environmental protection specialistJean McMains, program assistantKieu Vu, statistical analyst

5 yearsMichael Bacon, environmental protection specialistAnn Clark, technicianTsering Dorjee, nurse consultantPaul Guenther, physical scientist researcherAlexandra Haas, general professionalDonald Sutton, program assistantLynne Swanson, general professionalGordon Whittaker, environmental protection specialist Ning Wigraisakda, environmental protection specialist

Health & Environ. Information & StatisticsMarybeth Jupille, statistical analystCynthia Nelson, administrative assistant

Health FacilitiesCharlene Russell, general professionalBeth Meglin, health professional

Lab ServicesMark Angerhofer, physical scientist researcher

Prevention ServicesStephanie Beard, general professionalPatricia Daniluk, health professionalJo English, general professionalAmber Galloway, general professionalJaclyn King, general professionalHeather Moritz, general professional

Water Quality ControlMichael McClure, environmental protection specialistNicole Rollo, administrative assistant

Service milestones | March and April, 2014NEWSLink

Published every other month by the Office of Communications for employees of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

Shannon Barbare NEWSLink EditorMark Salley Director of Communications Jan Stapleman Deputy Director of Communications Rio Chowdhury Marketing and Social Media Lead

Contributors

Eugene Aguirre, Christopher Dann, Eric Heyboer, Rachel Wilson-Roussel

NEWSLink May and June 2014 | 3

Child Health Survey: 10 years and growingPUBLIC HEALTH

By Shannon Barbare ● Office of Communications

The Child Health Survey is celebrating its 10th birthday this year with plans for a major expansion in 2015.

One of the survey’s major sponsors and beneficiaries, the Colorado Health Foundation will fund the expansion, which will increase the sample size from 1,500 to 5,000 people.

“One of the foundation’s major priorities is to reverse the upward trend of childhood obesity,” explained Rickey Tolliver, director of the Health Surveys and Analysis Unit. “We wouldn’t be able to detect such changes with our small sample size." A larger sample will allow the foundation to assess current childhood obesity rates, then repeat the study in five years or so to see the change over time.

Currently an “add-on” to the CDC-funded Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, the expanded survey will be able to purchase lists of potential respondents. But its tie to the behavioral risk survey is a critical part of its history.

Back in 2004, Health Statistics Section Chief Alyson Shupe had a brainchild, one that would provide cradle-to-grave health surveillance in Colorado. The Behavioral Risk Factor and Youth Risk Factor surveys covered most of the population, but kids ages 1 to 14 were not represented. By gathering support and funding from a number of extremely interested stakeholders, and finding subjects through the behavioral risk survey, covering that gap became feasible. Colorado was the first in the country to have a child survey.

The 25-minute questionnaire asks about physical activity, nutrition, access to health and dental care, behavioral health, sun safety, injury, and much more. “When you link the child health responses to the parents’ responses on the adult survey, you have a robust set of household data,” Tolliver said. The 2013 data will be released by June.

Some questions, such as those about obesity and nutrition, are on the survey year after year. Those provide trend data. But for $2,000 a pop, stakeholders can ask for additions. For example, the Healthy Housing Coalition might request questions about parks and other aspects of the human-built environment. An internal board reviews the requests, and Tolliver creates a mock-up to ensure the number of questions doesn’t exceed the survey’s time parameters. Marijuana questions will be on the 2014 survey. The Child Health Survey is one of three done by the unit. Tolliver gives props to the interviewers in the Survey Research Unit who make the phone calls and ask the questions for those three surveys and others in the department. “I’ve said many times I can’t do their job,” he said. “It takes patience, a clear speaking voice and the willingness to read the question exactly as it’s written and to read the question even when the respondent anticipates it and jumps ahead.” When all that questioning is done, and the Child Health Survey results are in, unit staff members expertly analyze the data. All one has to do is ask for results. “We joke that someone could send us a note by carrier pigeon and we’ll do our best to give them what they need,” Tolliver said.

Department programs plan and evaluate based on the data. It’s used in department reports, to evaluate the effectiveness of media campaigns and to help local public health agencies with their public health improvement plans.

“A lot of partners who need this data have supported us for 10 years,” Tolliver said. Prevention Services’ Children Youth and Families Branch sponsors more than half the questions on the survey. Other state partners include the departments of Transportation, Education, Health and Human Services, and Health Care Policy and Financing. Non-agency partners include Colorado State University, Delta Dental, Kaiser Permanente, the Colorado Health Foundation, Caring for Colorado and the Rocky Mountain Prevention Center. ◄

From left, Angela Jester, Tracy McMurray, Ava Williams, Elaine Lopez, Debbie Mendias and Judith Marienthal of the Survey Research Unit.


Into the lightBy Shannon Barbare ● Office of Communications

COVER STORIES

Rebuilding life after son's death and a journey through darkness

Photo: DeVaughn Levy-Hagan and mom Nyasha Levy in 2009, DeVaughn's senior year in high school.

n many ways, Nyasha Levy’s Friday was typical. In the morning she talked to her son, who was away at college in Kansas. She set up and took down several network accounts at work. But her

week ended on a bitter note when she learned she didn’t get an anticipated promotion. The bad news was delivered in a sterile way. As she headed home, the air smelled like snow in advance of Denver’s second storm in three days.

The next day, Nyasha was driving home from a meeting when she got a call from her son’s girlfriend Sandra.

“Have you seen DeVaughn’s Facebook?” Sandra asked. “They have ‘rest in peace’ written all over it.”

DeVaughn’s football coach at Garden City Community College confirmed what social media foretold. On Saturday, Dec. 4, 2010, DeVaughn Levy-Hagan died by suicide. He was one of more than 38,000 people in the U.S. to kill themselves that year. Eight hundred sixty-seven of them lived in Colorado. The numbers have climbed every year since.

The American Association of Suicidology estimates for every suicide in the country, there are at least six direct survivors, In 2012, 1,053 Coloradans took their own lives. That’s more than 6,000 survivors in just one year. Nyasha Levy is a survivor. ►

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Continued from Page 4


COVER STORIES

Into the light

In an emergency, call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273- TALK (8255), where help is available 24/7.

to work, but her agency needed an immediate answer. She couldn’t imagine returning to the cubicle, where the walls were covered with photographs of her sons and where DeVaughn had called her at 8 every morning. “I wondered how I would get through the rest of the day after my phone didn’t ring,” Nyasha said. “That’s all I could think about.” Her supervisor helped her transfer to another agency. While the routine of work helped, there were many days she couldn’t cope. Memories kindled by a snowy day might mean she was unable to drive. A lunchtime panic attack would require strong medicine that didn’t mix with her heavy workload. She found it unconscionable that she was allowed to take only a limited number of the many leave days her co-workers were willing to donate. She felt managers didn’t understand, that the state personnel rules were harsh. Nyasha was often in a fog. Despite her transfer, she soon was struggling to stay out of trouble at work. Days and weeks passed. Responsibilities were added and taken away, and Nyasha couldn’t see how to remedy the confusing situation at work. For the self-described control freak, powerlessness sparked overwhelming anxiety. Sometimes she drove to Fairmount Cemetery, where her father and DeVaughn are buried side by side. She would sit in her car and listen to sports radio. It calmed her.

ne workday in December, two years after DeVaughn died, a supervisor emailed Nyasha, notifying her that come Monday, she was to train someone else to take over some of her job

responsibilities. “I don’t even know if I’m going to be alive on Monday,” Nyasha wrote in reply. “But if I am, I’ll be here to train, with bells on.” It was a rough day. She left work and drove to the cemetery. “I had some sleeping pills, and I had the radio on,” she said. “I wanted to go to sleep. I took those pills to go to sleep. I fell asleep out there.” Nyasha awoke to a car that wouldn’t start, and she drifted in and out of sleep. The next few hours were otherworldly. At 3 a.m. she awoke and had the sensation that her father was on the hood, asking her to turn on the headlights. She saw DeVaughn running away from the car, looking back. She woke up again at 6 and felt her dad tap her on the head. “We’re not here, babe,” he told her. “We’re fine. You need to go on with your life.” ►

eVaughn was born when Nyasha was 19, four years after her other son, Derrick. She got a GED and raised the two boys while going to Metropolitan State University, where she

earned a degree in technical communications. She chose state employment in 1999 because she felt public service meshed well with her ideals and her needs as a single parent.

Her youngest boy, nicknamed Buna, was a wild child -- quick to anger and just as quick to love. “I’ll never forget,” his mom said. “He smelled like Climatress and cocoa butter and Cool Water cologne -- all that mixed with Fritos and onions.

“DeVaughn was sent to me for order,” she continued. “He needed me to give him structure, and that meant I had to have it myself.” Her son became a star running back at Cherry Creek High School. He struggled academically throughout his life, but had been working hard at community college. Though he didn’t know it at the time of his death, he had been accepted to CU Boulder.

There were few clues that DeVaughn was having trouble. “Hindsight 20/20,” his mom said. “DeVaughn was probably suicidal. But, you know, DeVaughn was a very high-strung individual since birth.” No one saw the warning signs.

n 2010, Nyasha still was regaining her balance after her father’s death. Her dad had been her rock. Whenever she had a rough day, he would pick her up, and as they drove, they listened

to sports radio. When her dad died, she was able to work through the stages of grief. She knew the first year after losing DeVaughn “would be hard,” but she didn’t anticipate the deep depression that would lead her to contemplate suicide herself.

“I knew very early I wasn’t going to blame, and I was eventually going to speak out, but I had no idea about the depth of grieving,” she said. Too soon, she had to return to work.

In the weeks that followed DeVaughn’s funeral, Nyasha left town with her sister. She got a medical certification for FMLA. A doctor told her five months or so would be a reasonable time frame to expect herself to be ready to return

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COVER STORIES



Into the light

If you have work-related or personal concerns, consider calling C-SEAP at 303-866-4314 or 1-800-821-8154.

Her car started, and she drove home. Paralyzed by fear and out of her head, she failed to call into work. Her supervisors sent police to check on her. Officers connected her with a therapist who could see her immediately, and her son Derrick drove her there.

Looking back on that night in the cemetery, she said, “I was just so devastated and hurt. I didn’t know how to deal with it, and I had my own suicidal thoughts. It would have been so very easy to quit.”

While her dreams or visions on that night didn’t scare her, one thing did. “I was no longer scared of death,” Nyasha said. “I knew that was dangerous. I knew if I didn’t do something then, I was going to hurt myself.

“I finally sought help.”

yasha’s initial hesitance to get help is not uncommon. Though suicide survivors are three times more likely to kill themselves, they typically remain quiet, trapped by guilt, confusion and the

baffling stigma surrounding mental illness.

That stigma “is rooted in history,” said Office of Suicide Prevention Manager Jarrod Hindman. “The idea that suicide is a sin. The myth that a person who doesn’t have the capacity to bootstrap through trouble is weak.”

Curt Drennen, manager of the Disaster Behavioral Health team in the Office of Emergency Preparedness and Response, agreed that particularly in Colorado, people have an extreme tie to individualism and a reluctance to ask for help. He also pointed out people are scared of what might happen: “If I talk about it, the dam breaks and I shatter.”

“In fact, the opposite is true,” Drennen said.

Nyasha has read 52 books about suicide. She has learned suicide is not a sin, and when others say her son “didn’t want to be here,” they’re wrong. Intellectually, she knows it’s not her fault. But she was raised to keep quiet. Although two cousins also died by suicide and she remembers being depressed at age 10, the family history is vague. “We didn’t talk about it,” she said.

In Colorado, the 2012 suicide rate was 19.7 per 100,000 people, the highest in history. More people die of suicide than in car accidents. It’s the 10th leading cause of death in the state and the country. In other words, it’s is a public health crisis, and its No. 1 cause is untreated and undertreated depression. Keeping quiet is not an option.

“These are topics we should be aware of and be comfortable talking about, just like we talk about sex and alcohol and tobacco and wearing your seat belt,” Hindman said. “If you have a hunch that somebody’s struggling, it’s your job to ask that person what’s going on and, if they’re suicidal, to intervene.”

hese days Nyasha talks, a lot. She takes her story to churches and schools, often prompting listeners to share their own battles. She talks about her experience with antidepressants and

her six months of intensive therapy. She’s quick to point out the difficulty of accessing quality mental health care on a limited budget, even when one has insurance.

Describing her journey, Nyasha said. “Think about an earthquake. You can’t fix anything until the crash is over. Then it’s a rebuilding process.” She has found tools in many places, from C-SEAP to Second Wind to the therapist who is helping her reconstruct her life, step-by-step.

Every day, she builds. She must balance the comfort of solitude with the strength harvested from being in the world. She’d like to feel less alien -- to be able to go to a birthday lunch and be OK when the talk turns to graduations and grandchildren. Depression stalks her, ready to strike when life’s challenges arise. She keeps it at bay with therapy, prayer and projects.

“There’s healing in helping,” she said. Along with DeVaughn’s father, Darian Hagan, and his brother, Derrick Levy, she has started Buna’s Village. ►

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Nyasha and sons

Derrick (center) and

DeVaughn in 2005.

Nyasha, center, her mom, right, and her best friend Angel, at the Buna's Village school supply drive in December.


COVER STORIES

Continued from Page 6Into the lightThe organization hopes to help prevent suicide by focusing on life skills, academic support, and single parent/co-parent support.

“At first, I didn’t even know about the Office of Suicide Prevention or Second Wind,” Nyasha said. “Our goal will be to empower parents to ask the right people for the right resources.” The organization currently is waiting to be approved as a non-profit.

yasha came to the department last October. She feels the slate has been cleaned. “I’m grateful my supervisor leaves the past in the past,” she said. But the past is recent, and when

she tells her story, she might cry. She doesn’t want you to be intimidated.

Tears flow freely with honest talk. Don't let that stop you. ◄

N

Year after year, we read alarming statistics about suicide. Resources abound, but it’s unclear what individuals can do. Here are some ideas from Jarrod Hindman of the department’s Office of Suicide Prevention.

Fight the stigma

Spread the understanding that mental illnesses are like any other illness, not sins or signs of weakness. “The education and awareness piece of suicide prevention is so important,” Hindman said. “Cultural beliefs that are tied to masculinity keep the stereotypical man from asking for or offering help. It shows up in the data.”

Drop the attitude Hindman said many people have an “apathy attitude,” the idea they can’t prevent a suicide because they can’t be with a person 24/7. “We have strong data that suggest that’s absolutely not true. If you can intervene with somebody in a crisis, and get them safe, the likelihood is they’ll live.”

Learn what to do Don’t be afraid to ask people if they are struggling. “When people need help, you can be the bridge to get them talking to the right people.” Hindman said. “It’s not that you have to be the doctor; it’s connecting them to the right services.”

If you feel you need formal training, many short courses are available. For example, Mental Health First Aid Colorado offers low-cost one- and two-day classes across the state. The QPR Institute offers a class online.

Know what’s out there ► The Metro Crisis Line number is 888-885-1222. The Suicide Prevention Lifeline number is 1-800-273-8255. Put them in your phone contacts.

► The Colorado State Employees Assistance Program (C-SEAP) offers no-cost, confidential assessment, referral, and short-term counseling to state employees and immediate family members. The number is 303-866-4314 or 1-800-821-8154. C-SEAP also is a resource for managers and can help them answer the question, “What is the most appropriate action for this situation?”

► Mantherapy.org is a website aimed at helping men recognize when they need help. Tell the men in your life about it.

► Be aware of the many resources listed on the Suicide Prevention Coalition of Colorado website. ◄

EXPERT ADVICE

Hindman

By Shannon Barbare ● Office of Communications

Aimee Voth Siebert was in the midst of moving, and from one day to the next, it was hard to remember whether something she needed was at the apartment or the new house. Work sped on at

its usual intense pace. She had volunteer commitments, both in the community and at her church. She wondered, “If there were a disaster in the midst of all this, could I handle it?”

“Doing what I do, it was a real wake-up call,” said Voth Siebert, a behavioral health specialist in the Office of Emergency Preparedness and Response. “Disasters don’t happen in a vacuum; they happen in the context of our already busy, stressful lives.”

So Voth Siebert took a peek in what she calls her “mental energy preparedness kit.” She found it was a little low on nutrition and exercise. Relationships with family and friends needed some attention. There was an overabundance of

commitment. She knew she needed to practice her resiliency skills, something the Disaster Behavioral Health Team frequently preaches.

Team manager Curt Drennen defines resilience as a key component of good mental health. It’s the ability to bounce back from life’s challenges. Drennen said while childhood experiences might affect the amount of built-in resilience a person has, it’s essentially a skill set. The skills are simple things, like improving your sleep habits, but they’re not easy. As with any other skill, one needs to practice. While it doesn’t necessarily make perfect, it makes things a whole lot easier when the going gets tough.

Behavioral Health Specialist Jonathan Gunderson is a resilience encyclopedia who helps facilitate an evidence-based program for emergency response workers. The reinforcement is good for him. “I’ve sat through the training many times, and I always take something away for myself,” Gunderson said. “Intentionally putting these practices into place, and doing them over time, builds resilience.”


COVER STORIES

Be prepared

Resilience: the ability to become strong, healthy and successful again after something bad happens

The No. 1 myth that hinders people on the path to becoming more resilient, experts say, is the idea that emotions equal weakness. The Behavioral Health Team has seen the effects of this idea in the aftermath of disasters such as the 2012 theater shootings and last year’s wildfires and floods. “People try to suppress their grief, stress and shock, to bull their way through,” Drennen said. “About a year and a half later, they hit the wall.” In fact, the team says, when we try to avoid our emotions, we’re more likely to experience anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts. Teaching people about normal responses to stress is an ongoing priority for the team. “When you raise awareness, it gives people permission to seek help and support instead of suffering in silence,” Drennen said. “What you don’t know can hurt you,” team member Colin Martin said. But resilience isn’t all about you. It’s important for communities and organizations to be resilient as well. At work, daily challenges added to changes in funding streams, office moves and restructuring can take a toll. “We spend more than half our weekly time at work,” Drennen said. "If we're not actively engaged in building resilience, then the stress of our daily work increases team conflict, reduces productivity, reduces morale and isolates team members and whole teams into unproductive silos." Community resilience relates to civic duty. “Rather than thinking individually,” Drennen said, “you have a responsibility to the whole.” He pointed to the work done in Aurora after the theater shootings. The Aurora Strong Community Resilience Center started as a post-traumatic stress support center and now offers a range of services and connection opportunities to increase not only individual resilience but community resilience as well.

The team provides training and resources that help communities prepare. When disasters strike, the grants they administer help communities put the pieces back together. The team has seen firsthand the impact of good planning. When personal disaster strikes, you, too, can be more prepared. Take a look in your mental energy preparedness kit. What does it lack? ◄

For stress big and small, it helps to learn, practice resiliency skills


COVER STORIES

For Mental Health Month, the Disaster Behavioral Health Team has some suggestions for you

The Disaster Behavioral Health Team will hold two Wellness brown-bag sessions during Mental Health Month in May.

Practicing Resiliency: Use stress, change and adversity to grow and develop. Learn about research, tools and tips to build your resiliency. Noon - 1 p.m. May 6, Carson Room

Is Stress Good For You? Gain a better understanding of the stress response and practical applications to use right away. Noon - 1 p.m. May 27, Carson Room

Curt Drennen

There’s no such thing as a mind-body split. When you’re taking care of yourself physically, that is also an act of taking care of yourself emotionally. Our bodies can reflect inner turmoil or inner calm.

Jonathan Gunderson

You can learn and develop your skills. Be aware of your mindset and how you look at challenges -- every challenge, every day. The more you can look at them in a positive way, the more resilience you build.

Aimee Voth Siebert

Fight the "mean world" syndrome. Especially after a disaster, the damage is staring us in the face, and the media reports the negative story. But so much cooperation and kindness is happening at the same time. In your personal and professional lives, talk about the victories and successes that happen every day and overpower the negative.

Colin Martin

Let go of the notion that self-care is selfish. Just as negative little things can build up to make you frustrated, so can the positive little things to make you calm, relaxed and prepared. Incorporate those small positives into your daily routine, taking better care of yourself and ultimately, equipping you to better serve and take care of others.

EXPERT ADVICE

TWO WAYS TO LEARN MORE

10 WAYS TO BUILD RESILIENCE

From the American Psychological Association ► Maintain good relationships with close family members, friends and others.

► Avoid seeing crises or stressful events as unbearable problems. ► Accept circumstances that cannot be changed. ► Develop realistic goals and move toward them. ► Take decisive actions in adverse situations. ► Look for opportunities of self-discovery after a struggle with loss. ► Keep a long-term perspective. Consider the event in a broader context. ► Maintain a hopeful outlook. Expect good things and visualize what is wished. ► Take care of your mind and body. Exercise regularly, and pay attention to your own needs and feelings. ► Consider writing, meditation and spiritual practices.

ENVIRONMENT


Grant program helps keep waste out of landfills, create green-sector jobs

Grant recipient EDS Waste Solutions partnered with Developmental Disabilities Resource Center to staff its sorting line. Here, employees pick assigned items, such as aluminum cans and newspaper, off the line.

especially in underserved areas of the state, and that form partnerships to promote waste diversion and recycling. Spokes are typically small, community drop-off sites for household recyclables, and hubs are larger consolidation points that process and store materials collected from all spokes within a given region.

“Especially in rural parts of Colorado, the economics of recycling are a challenge,” Heyboer said. “The hub-and-spoke model helps focus limited resources on addressing those challenges to build win-win situations.”

The department’s Solid Waste and Materials Management Program has mapped out the state’s hub-and-spoke regions to identify how material should flow, taking into account topography and the availability of transportation networks. Some of the regions only have a spoke and are ripe for development into full-fledged hubs with greater processing capabilities and storage capacities. Some regions are in need of a lot more spokes.

“It’s our hope that those who are willing and able will take advantage of the funding available through the grant program to fill in these gaps across the state,” Heyboer said. ►

Reducing waste and wantBy the Division of Environmental Health and Sustainability

A once-jobless man with autism now is a disassembly technician for an electronics recycler in Colorado Springs. A quality control manager has landed a job

at a Greeley company that recycles tires into material for roadways, and a handful of other Coloradans have become site attendants for a new recycling center in Lakewood.

The common thread among these people is the department’s Recycling Resources Economic Opportunity Fund, which helped create their jobs. Their employers are using grant funding to divert waste from Colorado landfills and hire green-sector workers.

The program, which began in 2007, just selected grant projects for fiscal year 2015. Program administrator Eric Heyboer works with a committee overseen by the Pollution Prevention Advisory Board. Once the contracts are in place, the board will name the projects that will receive part of the $1.3 million available this cycle. The program is funded by a tipping fee for all waste disposed at Colorado landfills.

The program prioritizes projects that use a hub-and-spoke model to develop or expand recycling infrastructure,



Recycling grant program fuels economy, aids cleanup

ENVIRONMENT

Left, A "spoke" in Buelah that came about through a partnership with a local business owner.

In addition to administering the program, Heyboer provides education and technical assistance to grantees and applicants. Once the grantees get the cash, the payoff becomes evident: Waste management programs improve, Colorado keeps more trash out of landfills, and more Coloradans go to work.

“A lot of the funds are used for purchasing things such as balers, trailers and recycling bins — the kind of waste handling and recycling equipment that a lot of organizations, especially start-up companies, have a hard time getting the money to invest in on their own.”

Once companies have the equipment they need to increase capacity, they need more workers. According to the Institute

for Local Self-Reliance, sending one ton of waste to a recycling facility sustains 10 jobs, while sending it to a landfill sustains only one job.

In Colorado, this program has created an estimated 135 jobs since fiscal year 2009. And the state has made significant progress in keeping household trash out of landfills, increasing the waste diversion rate from 17 percent to nearly 27 percent since 2007. The investment provided by the grant program should help Colorado catch up to the national average of 34.7 percent, all the while creating much-needed jobs.

“Waste management is one of those industries that often is overlooked in terms of being an economic engine for the state,” Heyboer said.” The more material we recycle, the more jobs we create.” ◄

Denver Public Schools used a grant to start composting, which complements their Garden to Cafeteria program.

Part of the recycling process at EDS Waste Solutions. The items go to a second sorting line from here.

ENVIRONMENT


A worker at Blue Star Recyclers in Colorado Springs disassembles a computer.

By the Division of Environmental Health and Sustainability

There is a steadfast bustle of activity running through the disassembly line at Blue Star Recyclers, a nonprofit e-waste recycler in Colorado Springs. The

line workers take apart a steady stream of gadgets, from laptops, keyboards and printers to TVs and microwave ovens.

Not long ago, these industrious technicians were considered “highly unemployable,” because all have an autism spectrum disorder or other cognitive disability.

Blue Star Recyclers currently employs 12 people with disabilities. Blue Star’s Andy O’Riley is quick to point out their strengths.

“They naturally take to the disassembly, sorting activity,” O’Riley said. “It’s a job task that’s absolutely essential for e-waste recycling.”

O’Riley said labor statistics for the e-waste recycling industry

are dismal. “The average is 600 percent annual turnover,” he said. “For traditional workers, it’s monotonous, so over time employee production goes down. Or they stop showing up.”

But Blue Star experiences the mirror opposite: 100 percent retention, zero off-day accidents and increased production.

For Blue Star, making recycling a profitable, self-sustaining business by employing workers with cognitive disabilities was just the beginning. Becoming a Recycling Resources Economic Opportunity grant recipient added another chapter to Blue Star’s successful history.

Using a $89,786 grant awarded in 2011, Blue Star launched the Vocational Electronic Recycling Network. The network uses a hub-and-spoke model, and members help their communities by creating jobs for adults with autism and providing easy access to e-waste drop-off locations.

The grant was used to set up sites in La Junta, Pueblo and Canon City and provide them the resources to establish local partnerships with agencies serving adults with disabilities, train the new workers and build collection depots.

“Ultimately, our goal was to show that a recycling operation using this business model can be successful,” said O'Riley. “We’ve done it. It’s a way forward for the environment and for unemployed adults with autism.”

The success speaks for itself. By the end of the grant year, the three sites diverted nearly 250,000 pounds of electronic waste away from local landfills and created 13 jobs for individuals with developmental disabilities.

The network has become a permanent division of Blue Star Recyclers and now has four members. Its revenues come from member fees and a small percentage of each member’s e-waste processing revenues. So far, the network has collected about four million pounds of e-waste and created 43 jobs. ◄

Blue Star Recyclers grows profitable network, opportunities for disabled

From grant to good jobs

“Our goal was to show that a recycling operation using this business model can be successful. We’ve done it."Andy O'RileyBlue Star Recyclers

ENVIRONMENT


By Christopher Dann ● Air Pollution Control Division

Patrick Reddy performs air quality forecasting and analyses with his feet planted firmly on the ground. His knowledge and expertise, however, has helped

significant scientific studies benefiting public health take flight.

Reddy, the senior meteorologist in the Air Pollution Control Division, has forecast air quality in Colorado for more than 20 years. In 2012, his research into stratospheric ozone

intrusions attracted the attention of, among others, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

An intrusion is a meteorological phenomenon that occurs along the Front Range and elsewhere several times a year. Simply put, it’s what happens when

ozone present naturally in the stratospheric layer of the atmosphere is transported down to ground level. Ozone is a harmful lung irritant and a public health concern.

A team of air quality meteorologists led by Reddy forecast air quality for several regions of the state every day of the year. They have used satellite data to study and predict the intrusions for several years.

“I was invited to be a co-lead of a national EPA workgroup on stratospheric ozone intrusions,” Reddy said. “That led to an invitation to be a partner for several of NASA’s Air Quality Applied Science Team (AQAST) projects addressing a variety of air quality topics.”

Reddy subsequently collaborated on a number of papers and presented findings at several meetings and conferences.

“Pat's experience and collaboration with the NASA AQAST team has been invaluable,” said Gordon Pierce, manager of the division’s Technical Services Program. “He has helped

Colorado be at the forefront of air quality knowledge using new technologies such as satellites.” The department’s current involvement in both the Front Range Air Pollution and Photochemistry Experiment (FRAPPÉ) and NASA’s DISCOVER-AQ (featured in the last issue of NEWSLink) grew largely out of Reddy’s involvement in various workgroups.

Satellite data has a number of uses, such as helping predict and study stratospheric ozone intrusions, blowing dust events, and the behavior of smoke from wildfires; and determining where air quality monitors should be placed.

Since 2012, Reddy has participated in a number of workgroups, partnering with colleagues from around the country. He has authored or co-authored more than a dozen papers and been asked to present his findings by such prestigious groups as NASA, NOAA, and the Western States Air Resources Council. He’s spoken in Reno, San Francisco, Sacramento, Madison (Wisconsin), Boulder and other locations.

Reddy said he likes to identify and work on projects that have an immediate benefit for local air quality managers.

“We know what the issues are so we can design projects that will benefit Colorado and other states.The opportunity to collaborate has been fantastic,” he said.

Reddy’s work has provided “a piece of the puzzle” that will be used during the studies this summer to help interpret data and put it into context.

“Within CDPHE, we have the experience to help determine where to set up equipment and even where the planes (to be used in the study) should fly,” Reddy said. “Exceptional scientists from the outside are looking to us about issues that are, in turn, relevant for Colorado.”

Reddy continues to forecast air quality here at home. Most days, he can be found – feet on the ground – in a typical office on the first floor of the B Building on the Cherry Creek campus. Fortunately, though, his thoughts are usually among the clouds. ◄

Data at the ReddyScientists look to Colorado meteorologist's team for answers about intrusions

Patrick Reddy

public health child health survey: 10 years and growing · 2018. 10. 6. · and jumps ahead.”...

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