High Rockies Harm Reduction (HRHR), a nonprofit founded in 2020 by Maggie (aka Mugsy Fay) Seldeen, is committed to combating overdose deaths and providing evidence-based harm reduction programming in rural Colorado. Recently, HRHR received a donated ambulance from Eagle Valley Paramedic Services. This provides a climate-controlled space to host one-on-one anonymous services for clients in the Roaring Fork Valley and other rural Colorado communities.
“[The donation] is very kind because they’ve been watching us struggle — rain, wind, snow, fog, whatever the case may be — with our current setup,” Seldeen said. “And it’s been a little bit of a learning, trial-and-error process. We learned that those pop-up tents really aren’t designed to be alone in the middle of a parking lot.”
Brandon Daruna, CEO of Eagle County Paramedic Services, has worked with HRHR over the past two years since helping establish a pop-up location for HRHR’s services.
“They’re so amazing, they’re such great partners,” Seldeen said. “Their [CEO] is such a champion of the work we do, and I think our tent flew and hit him one day,” she chuckled.
Daruna said he admires the work HRHR and Seldeen are doing and happily donated the ambulance that was no longer being used to help them.
“I’m in awe of the dedication of Maggie and all the folks that work in this space. I have been a paramedic for 25 years and much of my work has been as a result of or related to drug addiction,” Daruna wrote in an email. “As fentanyl changes the recreational risk and threatens the life of anyone who chooses to experiment, it is imperative that we educate young people and give them access to some measures of safety.”
According to Garfield County Coroner, Robert Glassmire, who’s held the position for the past 10 years, there were a total of 56 drug overdose deaths documented in Garfield County from Jan. 1, 2020 to Nov. 13, 2024. This data includes individuals who may not be residents of Garfield County but overdosed within county limits.
Seldeen added that those numbers don’t capture the data on Roaring Fork Valley residents who may be taken to Grand Junction or Denver to receive care, or individuals who have lived in the Valley their entire lives but end up overdosing and dying in different communities.
“There’s some limitations with the data that we have,” Seldeen said. “My belief is that when we look at our numbers … they’re a very small piece of the picture. Nonfatal overdose numbers are a lot more difficult to capture.”
Glassmire echoed what Seldeen stated. “These statistics only show us part of the picture,” he wrote in an email. “Since these are deaths that are reflected, we don’t see the harm these deaths have to the decedent’s family, friends and their circles. Additionally, what the statistics don’t reflect are those individuals who survive a drug overdose.”
Efforts across the state regarding opioid use and harm reduction have ramped up in recent years. Attorney General Phil Weiser created the Colorado Opioid Abatement Council which consists of 19 different Regional Opioid Abatement Councils (ROAC) spread across the state. These councils were created to oversee and designate funds received in opioid settlements to improve access to treatment in rural and underserved communities.
Seldeen and HRHR are a part of the Region 5 Opioid Abatement Council, which consists of Eagle, Garfield, Lake, Pitkin and Summit counties. While HRHR does not face direct opposition from members of the local government, the Garfield County commissioners neglect to sit in on ROAC meetings and weigh in on the issues and where funds should be directed.
“Tom Jankovsky used to go to those meetings, shook my hand when the attorney general came and told us that this is the work that needs to be done with this funding, and I don’t know what happened to that or why [the Garfield County commissioners] are not involved,” Seldeen said.
Jankovsky, a Garfield County commissioner, explained, “I participated in the early rounds of the Region 5 Opioid Abatement discussions. When it was time for a representative from Garfield County, I asked Jared Rollins to take on that role. Also Mason Hohstadt represents Garfield County from our health department. Both have clinical and peer knowledge and experience with opioid abatement.” He added, “I have been very involved with the new withdrawal management facility in Glenwood Springs from funding and as a member of the governance committee.”
According to Seldeen, HRHR is not married to an outcome. She said their focus is day-to-day, leaning into the positive impacts they’re able to make in individuals’ lives. During one-on-one appointments, Seldeen looks at aspects of a client’ life beyond drug use in an effort to understand if there are underlying causes of negative or chaotic substance use.
“We get at that and support a person to achieve their best quality of life, whether that’s substance free or not.” Seldeen said.
HRHR provides Narcan, fentanyl test kits, sterile use equipment for snorting, smoking and injecting, and more for free to clients. If individuals are interested in volunteering with the nonprofit, or scheduling a virtual Narcan training, they should email Seldeen at maggie@highrockiesharmreduction.com