How millions in tax money has failed to deliver a change to Denver’s mental and behavioral health needs
By Ben Markus | CPR News
The campaign’s premise was simple: For nothing more than a modest sales tax increase, Denver could create a $45 million-a-year stream of grants to nonprofit mental health and drug treatment programs.
“This initiative will give us the capacity to get everybody who needs help into a place where they can get the help that they need,” said Dr. Carl Clark, the president and CEO of WellPower, a large Denver community mental health provider.
“It's the type of thing that is a gamechanger.”
Voters enthusiastically bought into the concept. And after six years and more than $170 million in tax dollars granted, a year-long review by CPR News found that the game has indeed changed, but perhaps not in the ways supporters and voters envisioned.
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