The Gunnison Valley Cares Coalition met February 24 at Gunnison City Hall with 18 members present. Chaired by Coleen Ogden and facilitated by Jocie Rojas, the meeting centered on the latest SHARP survey data for Gunnison Middle School and Gunnison Valley High School. The coalition also heard from its Risk and Protective Factors Work Group, discussed parent education needs, and learned about a statewide family engagement opportunity tied to America’s 250th anniversary.
SHARP Data: What the Numbers Show
Coalition members reviewed the most recent Student Health and Risk Prevention (SHARP) survey results for both Gunnison schools. The survey, administered every two years to sixth, eighth, tenth, and twelfth graders statewide, gives communities a detailed look at youth well-being, risk behaviors, and protective factors.
The big picture is encouraging. School climate remains positive, with most students reporting they feel safe at school and have opportunities to participate in activities. Many students identified trusted adults — parents, teachers, counselors — they can talk to when struggling. Reports of online harassment decreased compared to previous survey cycles.
Members noted one area worth watching: a slight decrease in students reporting that parents communicate clear expectations about not using alcohol. The coalition flagged this as a trend to monitor going forward.
An important caveat came up during the discussion. Some percentage changes in the data appear large but actually represent very small numbers of students. With smaller grade-level populations, a handful of individual responses can move the percentages significantly. The coalition emphasized reading the data in context and focusing on overall trends rather than any single data point.
Mental Health and Help-Seeking: The Trend Lines Are Moving
Survey results on mental health and help-seeking drew particular attention. A strong majority of students said they believe it’s acceptable to seek help from a counselor, therapist, or trusted adult when feeling sad, hopeless, or suicidal. Fewer students reported talking to no one when they’re struggling — a shift the coalition viewed as a meaningful improvement in help-seeking behavior.
Overall mental health indicators suggest gradual improvement in depressive symptom trends. Members credited ongoing prevention efforts, including QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) training and mental health awareness programming in the schools, while reinforcing the need to keep those supports in place.
Screen Time: Concern and Context
Screen time continues to be a concern among middle school students. Survey responses indicated that screen use sometimes interferes with family time, sleep, homework, and school responsibilities. But there was also good news: parents in the Gunnison area appear to enforce screen-time rules more consistently than parents in other communities across the six-county region. A majority of students also reported getting eight or more hours of sleep — a trend the coalition connected directly to parental engagement around technology use.
Work Group Sets 18–24 Month Priorities
The Gunnison Risk and Protective Factors Work Group met separately to dig into the survey data and identify where the coalition should focus its energy over the next year and a half to two years. Two priority areas emerged: student isolation and school disconnection, and substance use risk, including early initiation and the role of parent norms around alcohol.
To address those priorities, the work group discussed several possible strategies: increasing student engagement opportunities at school and in the community, expanding youth leadership and service opportunities, exploring options for service clubs or youth leadership groups, strengthening relationships between students, parents, and teachers, and increasing parent education related to youth development and substance use prevention.
Parent Education: Interest Is There, Attendance Is Hard
The coalition discussed the need for more parent education opportunities, particularly around current substance use trends, vaping and drug paraphernalia, online safety and social media risks, and strengthening family communication and connection. Members acknowledged a familiar challenge: parents consistently express interest in these topics, but attendance at parent education events is difficult to achieve. New approaches to reaching and engaging families may be needed.
Freedom 250 Goose Chase: A Family Activity Challenge
On a lighter note, the coalition discussed a statewide initiative called Freedom 250, a Goose Chase family activity challenge celebrating America’s 250th anniversary. The program uses the free Goose Chase app to encourage family connection, civic engagement, and community participation through interactive challenges and activities. It’s a low-barrier opportunity for Gunnison Valley families to spend time together while connecting to the national celebration.
Why It Matters
This meeting is a direct continuation of the SHARP data review that began in January. What’s emerging across the Gunnison Valley data is a picture of a community doing a lot of things right — strong school climate, improving help-seeking behavior, parents who are more engaged on screen time than the regional average — while being honest about where the gaps are.
The work group’s two priority areas — isolation and substance use risk — are worth paying attention to because they came out of a deliberate process of reviewing the data and asking where the coalition’s effort would matter most. Isolation and school disconnection is the kind of issue that doesn’t always show up in dramatic numbers but shapes how students experience school and community every day. The slight decline in parents communicating alcohol expectations is a small signal, but it’s the kind of signal prevention work is designed to catch early.
The parent education challenge is real and not unique to Gunnison. Coalitions across the county and the state face the same gap between parent interest and parent attendance. If the coalition develops new approaches that work, those strategies will be worth sharing.
What Comes Next
The Risk and Protective Factors Work Group will continue developing strategies around isolation, school disconnection, and substance use prevention. Expect to see more concrete programming ideas in upcoming meetings as the coalition moves from priority-setting into implementation.
The next Gunnison Valley Cares Coalition meeting is Tuesday, March 24, at 12:00 p.m. at Gunnison City Hall. The meetings are open and the coalition welcomes community members who want to be part of this work.
Sourcing: This recap is based on the official Gunnison Valley Cares Coalition meeting minutes from February 24, 2026, taken by Jocie Rojas, facilitator. For corrections, email info@sanpeteserves.com.
