Colorado

Jim Craig, Colorado AgrAbility rural rehabilitation specialist, presented at the VA Health Administration National Conference in February. This year's conference was titled "Health Services Research & Development ADAPT" (Accelerate Discovery and Practice Transformation). This year was the first in three years for the conference to be held due to the pandemic. The objective of this three-day event was to discuss and inform newly hired VA health care workers in best practices in service delivery for disabled veterans. Jim presented on improving the use of VA care and achieving improved outcomes. Jim wants to continue to raise national awareness that returning veterans are not being heard by the VA, and employment can have a direct effect on reintegration and improved mental health.

Candiss Leathers, program manager, visited The Coffee Break Project in Rocky Ford, CO. She met Hannah Bates, agricultural outreach coordinator, and several individuals attending the project. The Coffee Break Project is a model for providing outreach and connection in rural communities and is a community-driven model that supports the mental health and emotional wellbeing of farmers and ranchers in rural Colorado.

The Colorado AgrAbility project is hiring a rural rehabilitation specialist! The rural rehabilitation specialist coordinates AgrAbility program activities for farmers and ranchers located in rural Colorado with the goal of informing, educating, and assisting farmers, ranchers, farm workers with disabilities, and their families to mitigate incidences of harmful responses to stress experienced by these individuals. The specialist will aid those with physical, behavioral, and/or developmental disabilities to enhance self-sufficiency and/or the continuation of employment. The rural rehabilitation specialist assists program participants to remain and/or to enter into their agricultural livelihoods by analyzing each individual situation, making recommendations, identifying adaptive technology, and facilitating access to resources.

Contact Program Manager Candiss Leathers for more information: cleathers@goodwillcolorado.org

To apply, click here.

Submitted by Ellis Vidmar