Equitable Behavioral Health Care

Joel Berdie is passionate about being in community. Since he graduated this spring from the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work Four Corners MSW Program, he is translating that passion into piloting a new integrated, community-based model for social work service delivery. 

“I have noticed the ways that our community has gaps. I want to use my energy and passion to jumpstart a refreshed model of care that is accountable to the people, is inherently flexible and is going to be constantly evolving,” Berdie says. He is developing partnerships with local resource centers in Durango, Colorado, to deliver bilingual services to clients where they need them — whether that’s on the streets, in the client’s home, or in an office. 

Services would range from individual counseling to crisis response and management, to outreach and case management. If a client needs help getting to a medical appointment, Berdie would transport them. If they need help navigating benefits, they’d receive that assistance, too. Berdie also aims to expand Durango’s existing community-based peer navigation resources. And, as a fluent Spanish-speaker, he will offer all services bilingually and in a culturally responsive way. 

The goal, he says, is to provide more equitable behavioral health care for those who have been falling through the gaps in the region’s health care and social services systems, such as unhoused people and those experiencing poverty, Native Americans and immigrants, and people struggling with substance use. 

“By pairing community-based behavioral health professionals with a peer-driven model of accountability, our community will begin to see culture change,” Berdie explains. “Not only will tangible wellness outcomes improve and partnering organizations’ work capacity increase, but a reformed and passionate dialogue will evolve about what it truly means to serve all members of our community.”