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Helen Santoro

Freelance Reporter

Helen Santoro is a freelance journalist who covers health, neuroscience, wildlife, climate change and LGBTQ+ communities.

In Gunnison, Neighbors Step Up To Support Each Other Amid A Mental Health Crisis Only Made Worse By The Pandemic

Long-time residents are providing much needed mental health care for people suffering from depression, drug abuse or a suicide attempt.

By Helen Santoro and Stephanie Maltarich

Joe Petersen now serves as a peer support specialist at Gunnison Valley Health, where he helps people who come into the ER because of a suicide attempt, drug overdose or other serious mental health concerns — issues he himself has survived. Photographed in Gunnison on Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021.

Joe Petersen now serves as a peer support specialist at Gunnison Valley Health, where he helps people who come into the ER because of a suicide attempt, drug overdose or other serious mental health concerns — issues he himself has survived. Photographed in Gunnison on Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021.