Colorado

988 Colorado, Walk-In Crisis Centers, and Public Behavioral Health Services

By Dr. Stacey Forbes, DNP, APRN, PMHNP-BC

If you have lived in Colorado for a while, you may have an old crisis line saved in your phone. Colorado has consolidated its crisis support under 988, and several other parts of the public behavioral health system have been reorganized in recent years. This guide sets out the current picture so you can find the right door quickly.

Colorado Crisis Services is now 988 Colorado

Starting June 5, 2026, the Colorado Crisis Services website redirects to 988 Colorado. Support is available by calling 988 or texting 988, in English and Spanish, and through live chat on the national 988 website. 988 Colorado also lists walk-in locations for people who prefer to get support in person.

If you have an older crisis number saved, the simplest fix is to replace it with 988, which works from any phone in the state. Walk-in centers are worth looking up in advance, before a hard night, so the location is already familiar.

• 988 Colorado: call or text 988, in English or Spanish, at any hour — or find a walk-in crisis center through 988 Colorado.
• 911 for immediate danger to anyone’s life or safety.

The Behavioral Health Administration and OwnPath

The Colorado Behavioral Health Administration (BHA) describes itself as the state administration responsible for ensuring all people in Colorado have access to quality mental health and substance use disorder services, regardless of where they live. It is a cabinet member-led agency housed within the Colorado Department of Human Services.

For families, the most practical BHA tool is OwnPath, a care directory for searching mental health and substance use providers and programs across Colorado. If the search is confusing, the BHA says it will help guide people through their options.

Health First Colorado

Health First Colorado is Colorado’s Medicaid program, and it covers behavioral health care. You can apply online through Colorado PEAK at co.gov/PEAK, in person at a county office, or get help from the Member Contact Center at 800-221-3943 (State Relay: 711).

If you are covered by Health First Colorado, start with the behavioral health providers available through your coverage. Paying privately for care that is already covered is rarely the best use of a family’s money.

Free sessions for young people

I Matter, managed by the Behavioral Health Administration, gives Colorado youth 18 and younger — or 21 and younger with special education services — up to six free sessions with a licensed therapist, in person or virtually, with no insurance, credit card, or legal status information required. See teen mental health consent in Colorado for how young people can start care on their own.

Where private psychiatric care fits

Private practices, including telehealth practices like Willow & Stone, are not crisis services and do not replace 988 Colorado, walk-in centers, or public programs. What they offer is one clinician over time, longer appointments, and care that reaches a patient anywhere in Colorado without a mountain drive — which matters on the Western Slope and in high country towns where psychiatric appointments are scarce.

The practical combination for many families: 988 saved in every phone, public or Medicaid-covered care where it fits, and a private clinician for evaluation and medication management. See psychiatric care across Colorado.

Common Questions

Sources & Further Reading

• 988 Colorado
• Colorado Behavioral Health Administration
• OwnPath Care Directory
• Health First Colorado
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline