Girl Scout Troop 67358 from Littleton was honored June 6th in Washington, DC at the National Council for Mental Wellbeing 20th annual Hill Day conference. The troop earned the “Advocates of the Year” award for testifying here in Colorado at the State Capitol in favor of SB24-007, Behavioral Health First Aid Training. The girls in the troop, all rising seventh graders, worked hard on researching mental health, met with a University of Colorado Psychology professor, and wrote their testimonies in favor of the bill. They went to the State Capitol on April 30th to testify, meet with legislators and lobbyists and were thrilled the bill passed and was signed by Governor Polis in early June.
In DC, Congresswoman Brittany Pettersen left the girls an official letter congratulating them on their hard work and advocacy and arranged for a private tour of the U.S. Capitol with her staff member. While touring the Capitol, girls from the troop met Senator Hickenlooper at his office who was impressed by their advocacy for mental health first aid training.
At the National Council for Mental Wellbeing's reception during their conference, the troop excitedly accepted their award and each spoke during their acceptance speech. The audience gave the girls a stand ovation, many wiping tears from their eyes, and thanked them for their advocacy and speaking up for mental health first aid training.
