What does CHARG stand for?
CHARG stands for the Capitol Hill Action and Recreation Group,
Inc., a membership organization of mental health consumers founded
in Denver, Colorado in 1980. CHARG is one of the two nonprofit organizations
which together run CHARG Resource Center.
What does HEART of Boardwalk stand for?
HEART stands for "Healing, Empowerment and Advocacy for a Richer
Tomorrow." HEART of Boardwalk is a nonprofit corporation founded
in 1989 to give persons in the Denver community a way to support
consumer empowerment efforts. It is a governing partner of CHARG
Resource Center.
Why don't you simply have one board of directors, with
50% consumers and 50% community supporters?
We believe it is important to preserve CHARG as the independent
voice of the mental health consumers. Too often consumers are reluctant
to speak up in a meeting with others who may have considerably more
experience with boards and management issues. Under our structure,
consumers build their own leadership and vote independently on all
policy decisions, yet they can draw on the expertise represented
on the HEART of Boardwalk board.
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Isn't it cumbersome to have two boards? What happens
when they disagree?
We owe our success to the high degree of trust and sense of shared
mission between our two boards. While they often make suggestions
to each other, they rarely if ever experience intractable disagreements.
We do, however, have a procedure in place for a committee of representatives
from each board to meet and discuss such a disagreement if it were
to occur (it hasn't yet!).
Where does your money come from?
About half of our total budget comes from Medicaid insurance
reimbursement for services provided in our clinic. Under the current
Medicaid managed-care system in Colorado, we are reimbursed through
a contract with Access Behavioral Care, Inc. of Denver. Our PATH
program is funded through a contract with the Colorado Coalition
for the indexless, which receives federal grant support for PATH.
We have a large and growing number of individual contributors, and
we receive grants from foundations and corporations to support our
work. A number of local churches and religious organizations have
also chosen to support our mission.
How does an interested consumer apply for services?
For drop-in center services, he/she need only show up at the center
at 920 Emerson Street any weekday afternoon. There is no intake
process, and the drop-in is open to any interested individual, provided
he/she has a mental illness and is either in treatment or stable
following treatment. The consumer staff on duty will welcome new
arrivals and show them around. For the clinic, interested persons
should contact Laura Pritchard-Haile at 303-830-8805 for initial
screening, which will be followed by an intake interview if appropriate.
Because of our small size, we cannot always take people into the
clinic quickly, and for financial reasons we also must unfortunately
favor Medicaid-eligible applicants.
Where do your clinic referrals come from?
Self-referrals from consumers, referrals from the PATH program,
referrals from local mental health professionals and hospital personnel,
and referrals from Access Behavioral Care make up the bulk of the
calls we get.
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