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June 2020
My Fellow Coloradans,
Today, memorials around the country were held for George Floyd, as demonstrations demanding justice have entered their second week.
George Floyd’s life mattered. He was a human being -- an American -- entitled to the unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
That’s really what these demonstrations are all about -- ensuring that everyone in our great state and nation have those rights.
I want to share something that gives me hope and optimism:
Earlier this week, a video of a different sort went viral. It was a video of George Floyd’s six-year-old daughter Gianna, being carried on the shoulders of one of George’s closest friends.
Smiling, she declares: “Daddy changed the world.”
He certainly did.
One of the best things about being a parent is those moments when our children show us wisdom in an unexpected way.
Let us allow Gianna Floyd’s youthful wisdom to guide us in our quest for justice and equality.
Let us live up to an innocent child’s expectations of what this country is capable of.
And let us deliver on her promise of a changed world.
Sincerely,
Governor Jared Polis
** Mask-Up Campaign
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Today my administration launched a public service announcement campaign about the importance of wearing masks.
Click here ([link removed]) to watch the ad:
[link removed]
Our mask is our passport to the Colorado we love.
Widespread mask-wearing will make it easier to relax restrictions on our economy and society more quickly, and it will save lives.
I also unveiled a statewide executive order that will give every establishment in our state the right to refuse service to anyone wearing a mask.
These businesses, their employees, and their patrons should have a right to be protected from those who refuse to take the commonsense step of wearing a mask.
** Special Thanks
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Special thanks are in order to our participating partners in spreading this very important message and supporting our efforts by posting the PSA for the benefit of the community on social media, and billboards all across our state:
* Healthier Colorado
* Colorado Outdoor Advertising Association
* City of Westminster
* Leevers Supermarkets
* Early Bird Restaurant
* Pancho Cabrera
* Mentalounge Production
Together, we can be smart, stay healthy, and look cool doing it by wearing masks. That way, we don’t prolong the crisis and we can enjoy more of the Colorado we love.
** Governor's Emergency Education Relief Fund
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Today, I announced plans to bolster Colorado’s education system through the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund or the GEER fund.
This $44 million from the federal government is intended to provide broad flexibility for Governors to address the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on high-needs students from preschool through higher education.
We know that even before coronavirus, our school system has been plagued by inequality, and the recent pandemic has worsened that inequality.
That’s why the majority of this funding will be utilized for a new P-20 Equity and Innovation Fund. School districts, charter schools, institutions of higher education, and Tribes will be invited to apply alone, in consortia, or with a partner.
These funds will be utilized to address the impact of COVID-19 by also transforming schools, improving transitions between P-12 and higher education, and increasing student-centered learning.
Priority will be given to those schools or institutions that serve a high-needs population, those in rural areas, and those schools in priority improvement or turnaround. The State of Colorado is also pursuing significant research funds in order to evaluate the impact of each of the grants on student outcomes.
** Behavioral Health Task Force
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In addition to a public health crisis and an economic crisis, Coloradans are also dealing with a mental health crisis.
Isolation, fear, financial pressures, grief, anxiety -- these are all feelings that we’re dealing with right now and I want to encourage Coloradans to seek out help if they need it.
Please visit Colorado.Gov/CDHS to find assistance with behavioral health, or for more immediate help, Colorado Crisis Services is just a phone call, a text, or a few clicks away.
Call 844-493-8255, text TALK to 38255, or visit coloradocrisisservices.org. ([link removed])
Before the COVID crisis hit, I appointed a Behavioral Health Task Force to study the issue and provide recommendations for action to my office, and I recently added a new COVID-19 specific behavioral health committee.
The committee will publish an interim report by mid-August outlining short- and long-term impacts on the behavioral health system, including access to and affordability of services.
This task force will be Chaired by Lieutenant Governor Dianne Primavera, and will include the following members:
* Yadira Caraveo, State House of Representatives
* Cara Cheevers, Colorado Division of Insurance
* Lila Cummings, Colorado Hospital Association
* Curt Drennen, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, co-chair
* Daniel Darting, Signal Behavioral Health Network
* Doyle Forrestel, Colorado Behavioral Healthcare Council
* Camille Harding, Colorado Department of Human Services
* Joy Hart, Colorado Department of Corrections
* Brenda Heimbach, El Paso County Public Health Office
* DeAnne House, Ute Mountain Ute
* Cheri Jahn, Colorado Provider Association
* Jan James, Larimer County Human Services
* Tracy Johnson, Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing
* Kim Nordstrom, Colorado Access
* Carrie Paykoc, Office of eHealth Innovation
* Rod Pelton, State House of Representatives
* Susie Walton, Park County Human Services
* Robert Werthwein, Colorado Department of Human Services, Co-Chair
* Leon Wittner
* Anthony Young, Association of Black Psychologists
** Congregate Care Visitation
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We also know that this pandemic has been particularly hard on older Coloradans living in nursing homes and congregate care facilities, many of whom have experienced mental and behavioral health challenges because some facilities ended visitation in an effort to prevent the spread of Coronavirus.
We know that this virus is incredibly deadly inside nursing homes, which is why nursing homes and senior care facilities across our state are taking steps to reduce the risk of workers and visitors bringing the virus in, and every facility now has has an isolation plan in case an outbreak occurs
Today, I announced that my administration will be working on guidelines for a new program, The Lifeline Pass Plan, that will allow people who test negative for coronavirus, and have no known exposure or symptoms, to visit their loved ones. A 48-hour pass after a negative test can reduce the risk of spreading Coronavirus to those who are most vulnerable and help make sure that our grandparents can receive the love we all need in a reasonably safe way.
** Thank You to Frontline Workers
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We are incredibly grateful for our health care workers, first responders, and others on the front lines responding to this crisis. But some of our frontline heroes don’t always get the recognition they deserve.
From our staff at our Division of Youth Services facilities, to our mental health facilities in Pueblo and Fort Logan, to our regional centers for the population of individuals with developmental disabilities, and our Veteran’s Community Living Centers, these are difficult jobs to perform in the best of times.
It’s even more stressful when there is a very real threat both to residents or patients and to staff.
We should all take a moment to remember the critical, heroic work that these dedicated public servants are putting in day-in and day-out.
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Copyright © 2020 Office of Governor Jared Polis, All rights reserved.
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