Affordable Housing Questionnaire Responses:
Boulder County Commissioner Candidates, 2022
FACTS ABOUT HOUSING IN BOULDER COUNTY
About one quarter of renters in Boulder County spend at least half of their income on rent.
In some Boulder County departments, surveys show 70% of employees commute from outside the county.
Commuting into the county for work is most common among lower-income workers.
The last 10 years of available data show Boulder County has gained 3.5 jobs for every 1 unit of housing.
FACTS ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH IN BOULDER COUNTY
In 2018, Mental Health America ranked Colorado’s mental health situation in 40th place for adults and 48th place for youth.
Boulder County emergency room visits for suicide attempts rose 82% in 2020 and continued climbing in 2021. Especially heartbreaking is the heightened risk for LGBTQ+ youth and the three-fold increase in suicide attempts by 10- to 17-year-olds.
COVID-19 has had complex impacts on mental health, causing isolation, economic challenges, and grief, with consequences for young adults, medical and essential workers, and those who have contracted Covid-19. For the Latinx community, stress, anxiety, and depression have been exacerbated by disparate financial and social impacts.
Together Colorado - Boulder County and East County Housing Opportunity Coalition (ECHO) have worked together on affordable housing issues in Boulder County. Together Colorado also works on mental health issues.
We jointly asked Boulder County Commissioner candidates Ashley Stolzmann and Elaina Shively several questions about their positions on the issues of affordable housing and mental health.