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The program, called Behind You<\/a>, began accepting applications on Monday. Services are provided by graduate student clinicians working under licensed supervision and are available through telehealth, in-person visits or a combination of both.<\/p>\n “We want to be able to meet food and beverage workers where they’re able to see us,” said Noelle Lefforge, director of clinical services at DU’s Graduate School of Professional Psychology. “Whether it feels like their problems are insurmountably large or if they’re kind of like, ‘I’m not sure if this merits seeking help,’ we’re here to see everyone.”\u00a0<\/p>\n To qualify, workers must have been employed in Colorado’s food and beverage industry for at least six months, working about 30 hours a week. Lefforge said the industry’s demanding schedules and high-pressure environment can add to the stress many people already face.<\/p>\n “All of us are prone to struggling at various times. Anxiety, depression, grief, loss, trauma, whatever the human condition brings,” Lefforge said. “So often that first step is the hardest to take and reaching out and feeling like you deserve that sort of help, but that’s what we’re here to do.”<\/p>\n A 2021 study<\/a> found more than half of restaurant servers surveyed reported experiencing anxiety, while nearly 40% reported depression. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data<\/a>, only 36% of hospitality workers had access to employer-provided health care in 2025.<\/p>\n Lefforge said working in food and beverage service herself, including in Las Vegas, shaped her desire to support the industry.<\/p>\n “I really came to love food and beverage workers. Really, they’re nourishing the nation. So for us to be able to be behind them, offering support so that they can get that work done, it’s just really rewarding,” she said.<\/p>\n In a news release, Southern Smoke Foundation Chief Mission Officer Catarina Bill said Colorado has long been a target for the program’s expansion given the state’s culinary and beverage industry in cities such as Denver, Aspen and Boulder.<\/p>\n “Our friends at the University of Denver showed us just how perfectly aligned and well-equipped they are to provide the highest level of mental health services to the food and beverage communities who need it most,” Bill said.<\/p>\n