Reprinted from the Health District's quarterly publication mailed to district residents (Spring 2001)

The typical Larimer Center for Mental Health client is a single, low-income adult, but with nearly 30 programs, seven locations and a clubhouse, the center is involved in bringing both mental health treatment and education to more than 5,000 adults and children in Larimer County each year.

"I like to say we serve people from womb to tomb," says Randy Ratliff, the Larimer Center for Mental Health's (LCMH) executive director.

"The range of people we serve includes those needing help handling a divorce to people with really significant mental illness that impacts their lives," says assistant director Vicki Grassman.

Adults are served primarily out of the main offices in Fort Collins, Loveland and Estes Park. There are also three residential facilities for adults in Fort Collins and the Spirit Crossing clubhouse, which offers pre-vocational training to clients.

Adult services include outpatient counseling, special services for seniors, emergency intervention for sexual assault victims at the hospital, home-based interventions and psychiatric medication support. There is also an emergency support line that is staffed 24 hours a day. 

Children are provided with mental health services at the Child and Family office in south Fort Collins. But LCMH's reach goes far beyond the walls of their offices. Staff members serve children and their families through Poudre School District in Fort Collins, and in Loveland through Thompson Valley School District. They also work with Child Welfare at the Larimer County Department of Human Services. In collaboration with the Department of Corrections and the Department of Human Services, staff also work at The Hub, a single-entry point for adolescents who are in trouble or in crisis.

Many of LCMH’s programs are geared toward family preservation and to helping foster and adoptive children in the Larimer County Department of Human Services system. 

LCMH has been providing mental healthcare to Larimer County residents since the 1950s. Originally part of the county health system and called the Larimer County Mental Health Center, LCMH underwent a name change and became a private non-profit agency in January 2000. As a community mental health center, LCMH maintains its dedication to serving those who can’t get services elsewhere, but with the new organization and new funding opportunities, it has been able to expand its focus to the entire community.

LCMH receives funding from Medicaid contracts, the state general fund, contracts with the county and special grants, including one from United Way of Fort Collins.