A Cortez Assistance Fund Puts Specialized Pediatric Mental Health Care Within Reach

Cortez families raising children with complex mental health, behavioral, developmental, or neurodivergent needs often must travel significant distances and stay elsewhere for care, making specialty evaluations and psychiatric services essentially unreachable. Seeing this problem first hand, one local mental health therapist came up with a solution: establish a flexible fund to cover the transportation, lodging, and out-of-pocket costs that stand between Cortez families and specialized care their children. LOR’s funding will help the Sand Canyon Therapy Community Access and Support Initiative purchase gas cards, cover rental vehicle costs and hotel stays, and assist families with specialty evaluations when insurance coverage falls short. The fund will serve 15–25 families, and once children receive diagnoses or treatment plans, local Cortez providers can continue their care at home.

This project is fiscally sponsored by Onward! A Legacy Foundation.