REPS is a local nonprofit based in Steamboat Springs that focuses on serving the people of Routt and Moffat counties. Founded under Colorado Trust Suicide Prevention in 2004, the nonprofit became fully founded in Routt County in 2011, extending help in various capacities to those needing assistance. REPS offers 24/7 crisis support, peer support, school programs, QPR training, postvention support for survivors of loss and youth outreach. Its impact is clear – and as Steamboat heads into another winter when seasonal depression settles in, its work takes on renewed urgency.

Due to challenges around rural mental health, Routt County has historically higher suicide rates than the national average. Youth and working-class adults are particularly affected. From 2000 to 2020, the county averaged about 20 suicides per 100,000 people – above state and national levels – with firearms involved in 64% of cases. Local youth surveys show high rates of suicidal thoughts and self-harm, and recent cases among older adults point to growing risks across all age groups. These trends underscore the importance of ongoing prevention efforts like those led by REPS. In rural areas, where mental health challenges are significant, programs like REPS are vital. 

Behind the scenes of REPS’ lifesaving work are ongoing struggles that often go unnoticed. Much of the organization’s funding comes from competitive grants, which means every year brings a level of uncertainty – about staffing, sustaining programs and how many people the nonprofit will be able to reach. The volunteers, many of whom are peers with lived experience, carry a heavy emotional load. Listening to stories of pain and loss day after day takes a toll, and burnout or secondary trauma is a quiet but constant risk. In the more remote corners of Routt County, even something as basic as a strong internet connection can stand between someone and the help they need. And then there’s the deeper challenge: the silence. In small towns, talking about suicide still makes many people uncomfortable. Whether it’s pride, fear or cultural habit, stigma can be one of the hardest things to break through – and yet, REPS keeps showing up, every day, ready to have those hard conversations.

Amid the challenges, REPS continues to grow and adapt – proof that hope and healing are very much alive in Routt County. Calls and texts to the support line have steadily increased, a sign that more people are reaching out instead of suffering in silence. Youth outreach has expanded, with new partnerships forming between REPS and local schools, the Yampa Valley Medical Center and youth organizations to build a stronger safety net for young people. It’s this quiet, consistent work – built on compassion, connection and community – that continues to shift the narrative from loss to prevention, and from isolation to support.

Steamboat Magazine staff writer Skylar Leeson sat down with Claire de Cordova, REPS’ youth program coordinator to get her take on the nonprofit.

Steamboat Magazine: What inspired you to get involved in youth mental health and suicide prevention work?

Claire de Cordova: I work with kids in a variety of settings in first grade through high school. My goal as a teacher, a goal that all teachers share, was and is to help students become their happiest and healthiest selves. I noticed that youth are ones that need help the most, but also have the hardest time accessing necessary resources. I realized that REPS was hiring for a role that I saw as necessary during my time working in schools – helping students build coping skills and a mental health knowledge base through education programming and connecting youth in need to accessible resources. 

SM: Why are rural communities so affected by mental health struggles? 

CdC: There is no single reason for increased rates of mental health struggles and suicide in rural areas, but an assortment of many reasons for many different people. The Yampa Valley has experienced rapid economic change which can make rural livelihoods harder to sustain. I also think the stigma plays a huge role in rural mental health – it's harder to reach out for help if you haven't been exposed earlier in life to the idea that mental health is something that we all have and that it is not a shameful thing. Additionally, we often discuss how substance use and abuse with higher rates in rural areas coincides with mental health issues. Making sure care is accessible becomes harder and harder the more rural an area is, so making sure that all members of our community know what resources exist and how to access them is really important.

SM: Can you describe one of REPS’ youth programs and how it directly supports young people in Steamboat?

CdC: A program I am really proud of and one that I love to share with people is our free counseling program, which youth of all ages are able to access. We offer five free counseling sessions with licensed providers and can connect kids with free, confidential counseling. A lot of times adults know about this and kids don't – anyone above the age of 12 can access completely confidential therapy for free. We know the providers working with us so we can help connect people with experts that resonate with them. You get a little more personalization than normal. I think it's amazing that kids can tell us what they're struggling with and then we can help connect them with a provider who specializes in that knowledge base.

SM: What is a moment or story that stands out to you when you saw your work make a real impact?

CdC: Generally whenever there are youth that reach out to us wanting to get more involved, the results of those connections are really powerful. In the last few months, we have had several teens reach out to us wanting to learn about REPS and how to become more involved. Based on interest we have received from teens in the community, we are piloting an internship program that will start this fall. When teens come to us, we are able to help them gain expertise in the mental health field while also learning from them and their own life experiences.

SM: What are some of the biggest mental health challenges you see young people facing today in this community?

CdC: Every person is different so their struggles will be different too. We know that teens are struggling with higher rates of anxiety and depression than we have seen in the past. Part of this puzzle is increased isolation stemming from technology and social media. That being said, I don't want to make blanket statements about technology because I have had really insightful conversations with teens in our community about specific positive attributes of social media connection. Other conversations I have had with young people in Steamboat have centered around the immense pressures they feel to be committed to a wide variety of extracurriculars, and the pressures of holding themselves to an immensely high standard. Many teens feel as though they have to live up to this great expectation that they set for themselves. They struggle with asking for help or going to counseling, especially in men' s groups. More so, teens who have historically marginalized identities have described a feeling of isolation and a lack of connectivity and support due to their identities. It is so important that all youth feel that they have spaces in our community to be themselves safely and without apology.

 SM: How do you help break down the stigma around mental health and suicide, especially with teens?

CdC: What I've learned this year is the impact of having more frequent conversations in low stakes situations. If we are only talking about mental health in times of crisis, we are missing the prevention piece. I'm excited about expanded school programming so kids are more exposed to prevention without being tied to a crisis. We don't want kids to associate mental health with crisis times but more so with an increased knowledge of prevention measures so that larger conversations about mental health become less stigmatized.

SM: How does REPS partner with schools, families or the broader community to strengthen its youth programs?

CdC: We are focusing on in-school education, and we are always open to providing training to other groups. Where there's a want to learn more about sucicide prevention, we are excited to be the ones providing that training. We try to work in partnership with other youth facing organizations in the valley, and promote other things going on in the community without overlapping. Steamboat has a huge set of resources available to the public that are not common knowledge to all people, so we are always looking to share and promote other programs and offerings to cover more ground. Mental health is holistic, so we do our best to connect with as many people as possible in order to make a bigger change.

SM: What inspires REPS staff and volunteers to get into such work and how do they manage their own mental health doing such heavy work?

CdC: A lot of us who work in mental health are motivated by personal experience, so it can be hard to do the work we do. That being said, I have been grateful for the supportive community here at REPS and in the larger Steamboat community. We do a good job of supporting each other, and of practicing what we preach and taking care of ourselves. We are really lucky at REPS to have amazing volunteers, a ton of community support and recognition, and resources available to help with the work we do. I think the community does a great job helping and holding up the people in this industry.

SM: What gives you hope or motivation to keep doing this work, even when it’s hard?

CdC: My goal – and I know that the Steamboat community shares this goal – is making sure that our youth grow up to be healthy, happy, vibrant leaders. Our specific community has an abundance of resources to offer support and the adults need to be aware of these resources in order to help their kids. The youth in our community make and keep me hopeful. I think it's really important to listen to kids and to hear their struggles as they share their lived, direct experiences. I believe that kids and teens have the power to spark massive positive change in their communities and it keeps me hopeful to see that youth want to be involved in our programming. I am proud that our programming centers and honors their voices, and I am deeply honored to work at REPS and with youth across the Yampa Valley. 

Want to volunteer?

Becoming a REPS volunteer is a meaningful way to make a difference in the community. Interested individuals start by completing a thorough training program that equips them with skills in active listening, crisis intervention and suicide prevention, including QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) techniques. Volunteers commit to ongoing education and supervision to ensure they can provide compassionate, effective support through the text and phone hotline, peer advocacy or postvention teams. Whether potential volunteers have lived experience or simply a strong desire to help others, REPS welcomes people from all backgrounds who are ready to listen, connect and support those in crisis.

To get involved, visit REPS’ website www.yampavalleyreps.org, contact their volunteer coordinator directly at [email protected] or call (970) 870-8964 to learn about upcoming training sessions and application details.