How to Get Involved

Stay Informed:

Join the CCE Health & Accessibility Outlook Group!

Current State of the Issue at CC

Groups

Visit our student org webpage for the most current info and student leader contacts.

Accessibility and individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities

• Best Buddies
  • Best Buddies creates one-to-one friendships between CC students and individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD). The club also hosts a class on campus every Wednesday evening, named Higher Visions for Education (HVE). HVE is continuing education for adults with Down syndrome designed to enrich their independent living and social skills.

Global health and health disparities

• GlobeMed
  • GEM is short for gender minorities, and we welcome all women, female-identifying students, trans people and everyone else at CC who feels addressed by gender minorities in STEM fields. Our aim is to establish a supportive community for gender minorities in STEM fields by connecting students to each other and opportunities, providing room for discussions on current issues, and hosting hard skills workshops.

Mental health

• National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
  • NAMI on Campus works to end the stigma that makes it hard for students to talk about mental health and get the help they need. We hold creative meetings, innovative awareness events, and offer signature NAMI programs through partnership with NAMI Colorado Springs. Our goal is to educate the campus community and advocate for improved mental health services and policies on campus.

Sexual and mental health

• Student Organization for Sexual Safety (SOSS)
  • Student Organization for Sexual Safety (SOSS) is a student coalition of passionate allies, survivors, and advocates who are dedicated to creating a healthy and safe sexual climate, as well as shifting the culture on Colorado College's campus towards ending sexual violence. We tackle issues through varied and intersectional lenses such as rape culture, sexual assault, rape, intimate partner violence, and other forms of abuse and trauma, while also celebrating and promoting healthy, pleasurable, and consensual intimate experiences. SOSS provides students with a platform to question and understand the intricacies of these issues and the ways in which they influence our community.

• Student Title IX Assistance and Resource Team (START) exists to provide survivors of intimate partner violence, rape, and sexual violence of any kind with advocacy support. By working closely with the Campus Advocate (formerly SARC) and Title IX team, START hopes to improve the experiences of students navigating the Title IX process at Colorado College. Our members complete over 40 hours of Trauma-Informed Care Student Advocacy Training. We provide support for students regardless of gender identity, sexuality, race, ethnicity, economic background, disability status, religion, or age. To learn more, please go to: https://www.coloradocollege.edu/other/wellness/sarp/start.html.

Careers in healthcare

• Health Professions Club (HPC)
  • Pre-Health Professions Club is dedicated to acting in the role of a resource to pre-health CC students.We offer panel, presentations, job opportunities from local healthcare offices and their professionals (MD, DR, PA,NP, etc) in addition to advertising any opportunities that become available to our members. We are committed to evolving to our members' needs and interests, as we hope to support student in preparation for their careers.
• Minority Association of Pre-health Students (MAPS)
  • We explore cultural boundaries in health care and act as a support group.

Courses

• AN235/SO290 Global Health: Biosocial Perspectives
• PS366 Politics of Global Health
• SO246 Sociology of Health and Medicine
• SO290 Advanced Topics: Global Women’s Health
• SO290 Advanced Topics: Global Mental Health Policy
• SO 292/FG 206 Sociology of Body and Health
• EC 355 Health Economics

Offices and Departments

Global Health Program

Wellness Resource Center

• Within the context of holistic well-being, and health education, the Wellness Resource Center works in three primary focus areas: sexual violence prevention and response; substance use education and abuse prevention; and mental health promotion and suicide prevention. As part of their programming, they offer peer-facilitated and staff-facilitated peer-to-peer support groups as well as various workshops and programs focused on the above areas.  An example of such a peer-facilitated support group is The Healing Project aimed at survivors of sexual assault that addresses the dynamic and ongoing process of trauma and healing. One of the programs offered by the WRC is The Well Campaign designed to promote the idea that wellness is a process—rather than being an end goal.

• The Chaplain's Office offers spiritual, meditation and contemplative practices such as morning meditation or Qi Gong.

Office of Accessibility Resources

• Accessibility Resources celebrates ADEI by providing a range of accommodations and services for students with disabilities.

Accessibility Resources Student Leadership Council 

• The Accessibility Resources Student Leadership Council assists in providing disability awareness and programming to the Colorado College community. The Council also provides input on policies, procedures, and initiatives under the responsibility of the Office of Accessibility Resources, as needed.
• The council is composed of students registered with the office of Accessibility Resources who are committed to making positive contributions to disability awareness and culture at CC. The assistant director of Accessibility Resources serves as chair, and additional members include the director of Accessibility Resources, the Vice Provost, and a faculty member with a significant interest in disability studies and student support. 

Advising Hub

• Jane Byrnes is the student success special and pre-health professions advising manager and has  lots of information on health partnerships on and off campus, especially for those interested in careers in healthcare.

Student Counseling Center

• No student is denied counseling services because of financial hardship, and arrangements can be made with the counselor and the Dean’s Office to provide financial support for services from The Counseling Center (counseling sessions and psychiatric appointments). The first six counseling appointments are free for everyone.

Local Organizations

The Health and Accessibility Coalition will collaborate and help, amongst others, the following community partners:

• Community Health Partnership (High Impact Partner)
• Food to Power (Formerly Colorado Springs Food Rescue) (High Impact Partner)
• Vitalant
• Ronald McDonald House Charities of Southern Colorado
• Southern Colorado Health Network
• The Arc of the Pikes Peak Region
• Penrose-St. Francis Hospital
• UCHealth-Memorial Hospital
• Rocky Mountain Down Syndrome Association
• Innovations in Aging
• Pikes Peak Hospice & Palliative Care
• Discover Goodwill
• Best Buddies

Resources

Presentations, Panels, & Short Clips

• Watch the Health & Accessibility Coalition Issue Panel, from Tuesday, Mar. 9, 2021.
  • Facilitated by Niki Sosa Gallegos, CCE Community Partnerships Coordinator
  • Panelists: 
    • Kirk Woundy, NAMI of Colorado Springs
    • Cassandra Walton, Pikes Peak Suicide Prevention Partnership
    • Molly Hadley, Wellness Resource Center at Colorado College
    • Sara Rotunno, Accessibility Resources at Colorado College
    • Bill Dove, Counseling Center at Colorado College 
  •  
• “What Makes a Good Life?” Researcher Robert Waldinger discusses the importance of strong social connections in the making of a good life, as he explains findings from one of the longest-running studies on human happiness in history.
• Check out this list of 11 TED Talks relating to burnout from Business Insider.

Lists of best TED Talks on various topics concerning wellness

1. https://www.shape.com/lifestyle/mind-and-body/best-ted-talks-fitness-health-and-happiness-inspiration
2. https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/10-best-ted-talks-healthy-living-fitness-wellness/ 
3. https://thebitingtruth.com/nutrition/ted-talks-health/ 
4. https://greatist.com/health/ted-talks-inspiration#4 
5. https://tedxsydney.com/idea/top-3-ted-talks-to-improve-your-health-wellbeing/ 

Lists of best TED Talks on mental health 

8. https://www.elisplace.org/news/10-powerful-ted-talks-about-mental-health/
9. https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/10-ted-talks-to-watch-if-youre-worried-about-your-mental-health.html
10. https://www.australiacounselling.com.au/best-ted-talks-mental-health/

Lists of best TED Talks on disability and accessibility

11. https://sheribyrnehaber.medium.com/top-10-disability-and-accessibility-ted-talks-and-videos-de4e7f20bf0d
12. https://easterseals.ca/english/10-insightful-ted-talks-about-disabilities-accessibility-and-inclusion/
13. https://101mobility.com/blog/8-most-powerful-ted-talks-on-disability/

Podcast Episodes & Series

1. In The Happiness Lab, Yale Professor Dr. Laurie Santos shares her latest research findings and stories related to human happiness, helping inform the way we approach our own lives.
2. “The mental health benefits of storytelling for health care workers” by Laurel Braitman, a TedTalk Daily podcast that talks about the importance of storytelling for stress relief.
3. “Maria Town: Disability Rights are LGBTQ+ Rights” is a podcast interview with an activist and community organizer focused on the intersection between the Disability Rights Movement & the LGBTQ+ Rights Movement.
4. The land is still here: A Black farmer's fight for his legacy during Covid-19 focuses on one farmer profiled in Kamau Bell’s United Shades of America
5. The United States Pre-Existing Conditions: a podcast episode discussing the “sickness” of certain structures in the U.S.

Check out these two links to lists of great podcasts concerning various topics related to wellness:

1. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/31/arts/podcasts-exercise-diet.html 
2. https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/349036 

This link lists the best podcasts to listen to on mental health:

1. https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health-podcast#the-hilarious-world-of-depression

This link lists the best podcasts to listen to on disability and accessibility:

1. https://www.digitala11y.com/web-accessibility-podcasts-rountup/ 

Websites, Databases & Newsletters 

1. American Public Health Association has a list of relevant articles on the topic of intersections between systemic racism and public health disparities in the U.S.
2. News story is about a medical student creating a book to compare how rashes, diseases, etc show up on darker skin as opposed to white skin, which is the “norm” for teaching
3. This website provides links to databases recommended for finding content related to health and wellness. https://library.nwacc.edu/c.php?g=183820&p=1211553
4. This website contains links to reliable mental health information sources. https://www.northtexashelp.com/mental-health-information-sources.html