Testimonials

I have an extreme appreciation for the Rise program. I see it as an incredible resource for students to be able to access during times of need and for those who are truly at risk with safety concerns. This also allows access to so many students who are unable to have their mental health needs met outside of the school setting, for various reasons. The Rise therapist we work with has become an invaluable member of our team and is able to go above and beyond with her level of investment, knowledge, connection, warmth, and communication. I can't thank her or this program enough!

Our Rise therapist truly saved my daughter's life and without them, I am not certain my daughter would have survived.

Rise, typically an 8 week crisis intervention, maintained services almost 11 months at no cost to our family when most therapists were refusing to see young teens or had wait lists from 6 to 9 months long. Crisis is NOT something that can be postponed for insurance approval or wait listing a child. This crucial service was such a blessing for my family, and I cannot express my gratitude enough.

My daughter’s therapist took the time to get to know her personally and invested herself into my daughter's well-being. She went above and beyond the call of a normal psychologist finding unique ways to connect in therapy with my teenager at a teenage, relatable level. Her therapist made herself available day and night and created a life-long bond with my child, who still smiles with excitement at hearing her therapist's name.

My daughter’s therapist at Rise has helped her to self advocate and understand that her past history does not define a future outcome. My daughter now better understands how she deserves to be treated in the future, no matter what her past looked like. My daughter has slowly realized that certain core beliefs, which have shaped her life, were unhealthy and her therapist provided my daughter with the tools to begin the process of reshaping her perspective of healthy and unhealthy parent actions in her life in hopes to break this cycle for her future children.

The road ahead of my daughter will not be an easy path, but thanks to people like her therapist and Rise, my daughter has a future to look forward to with new skill sets to begin coping with her life struggles.

Please, as a father who has tried to navigate through the quagmire of POST-COVID mental health system nightmares for teens, I implore you to support, continue funding and expand Rise funding for the health and wellbeing of all the children.

Please, support Rise, let no child slip through the cracks or be left behind due to the severely broken mental health care system in Colorado.

We have been very blessed to be connected with Rise for our middle-school daughter. We did not know that she was struggling with her mental health until things blew up at school one day, and luckily the school counselor was able to connect us with therapy services through Rise. Our therapist at Rise has been a great asset to our daughter and provides support for us as a family. Our daughter has connected with her therapist and values their therapy sessions and insights her therapist has given her. We had been trying for many months to get our daughter into therapy that would not interfere with her school schedule, to no avail. Rise was able to direct us to a female therapist with appointment hours outside of the school day, and we were able to get therapy started very quickly. We are now aware of several previously unknown mental health diagnoses that our daughter was struggling with, and have the resources now to help manage them. The Rise program is a true asset to the community, school districts they serve, families, children, and patients. We hope one day our daughter will do great things in this world because of the love, time, understanding, and support of both Rise and her therapist.

I want to take a moment to share with you my gratitude. Thank you so much for being my therapist this year. You helped me learn new things and you're truly a wise person. Thank you for all the times you gave me hugs, I love hugs so much and often need them, and I never got them often with those around me. I felt like you were the mother I mentally needed in my life. You'd always try your best to understand me, thank you so much for that. I loved talking to you, even if sometimes I was too scared to speak up. I felt like you didn't judge me when I told you certain insecurities that l hold within myself. I truly hope you have a good summer and words can't describe how much I'll miss you. And once again. Thank you so much.

I am writing to thank you for the help and hope you have given my son and our entire family. My 15-year-old son was seen by a therapist within his health insurance plan, and found to be deeply depressed and suicidal. During this time of shock, pain and fear, we were told the health insurance plan did not cover mental health treatment, so for him to be hospitalized or even receive outpatient counseling, we would have to pay full out of pocket. Having limited financial resources, we were desperate to keep him safe and find outgoing therapy we could pay for without becoming homeless. We called over 30 resources trying to find help for him, and finally through his school, found RISE. Words cannot express the relief and hope Rise offered at a time we so desperately needed help.

It is hard for parents or any individual who has not experienced this to understand just how frightening and devastating it is to see a child (or any loved one for that matter) sink into depression and plan to end their life. As a parent, you feel so helpless and paralyzed with fear that you may lose your child. Yet there are such limited sources for help. You watch over your child so carefully from infancy, provide good nutrition, good physical health care, protection from disease, safety, love and nurturing, and if you are lucky enough, you still have health insurance for your child. But what happens when your health insurance provider decides mental health is not something they will cover and this precious child you love so much develops depression?


Kids don’t choose to be depressed. Impulse control during adolescence is limited, not to mention the tremendous stressors during adolescence. This is why we lose so many of our precious children to suicide. Available, affordable help is in short supply, which is why Rise is such a valuable and necessary fund. Without it, I don’t know where desperate parents and kids would go. It has saved an untold number of lives. It has certainly rescued our family, and we will be forever grateful!

Not only is the help Rise provided life-saving, but I can’t express my thanks and gratitude enough for the response I got when I first called. After 30 rejections and extreme desperation on my part, the first response from the individual answering the phone at Rise was, ‘We will help you. We will get your son the help he needs right away. We will help you through the referral process with the school. We are here for you.” And you were, with a therapist who could see him right away and all your support. I cried a lot during this crisis with my son – out of fear and frustration. But the tears I had after that call were of pure relief and gratitude. I know you must know the tremendous good your organization does but let me say from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU for helping to save my son.

My Rise therapist has been helping since last year. She has been wonderful. She’s the bright fireflies that guide me through the darkest nights. She truly is a blessing. Not only do I feel heard and supported, we have a nice bond, and I know she listens because she tends to remember small details that I usually forget about. She has helped me become a better and stable version of myself. 

We have talked about multiple things, and she is able to provide valuable and helpful advice for each situation. My therapist has been able to help me handle my depression, anxiety, fear, and anger in healthy ways. She has helped me articulate my feelings better. She has also taught me a lot and even provides wonderful poems, advice, words and stories. I was also brought to the realization that some problems I have go a little deeper than the surface. I just want to let you know how grateful I am for my therapist. She’s been a walking angel in my life. 

I’ve received all the help I need in order to become the best version of myself, and I have my therapist to thank for that. I also want to thank the wonderful program that helps people like me receive help from lovely people like my therapist. Thank you so much.