COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — A conversation about supporting each other's mental health opened the door for a much bigger message: don't ignore your own mental health.
During a recent "Convos and Coffee" visit with Meteorologist Alan Rose and Senior Reporter Tony Keith, we connected with two community members who wanted to shine a spotlight on the issue. Tony and Alan visit local coffee shops to connect with viewers in a different way, and this week they visited Third Space Coffee near Academy and Vickers.
"Honestly, just be honest with yourself... Even if you don't have like a huge problem, it's always good to keep working on yourself and support yourself, support other people around you," Jewel Hurtado said.
That conversation also gave Michael Murray the chance to share his own story of recovery and second chances. Hurtado mentioned she had connected with Murray through her therapist, Jessica Foster, at Sandstone. Murray was open about his past and wanted to highlight The Bridge, an organization in Colorado Springs that helps formerly incarcerated people reintegrate through community, fitness, purpose, leadership, and recovery.
Murray now works as a peer coach with The Bridge, helping others who are on that same journey. Murray said his own experience with addiction and mental health struggles led him to become a peer coach.
“I was dealing with my own issues with my mental health and addiction,” Murray stated. “I was battling alcoholism for several years.”
After reaching a year of sobriety, Murray said he decided he wanted to help others facing similar challenges.
“Once I was in recovery myself and had a good year of sobriety under my belt, I decided... I really want to do this for a living and really help people out,” he said.
Murray said his involvement with The Bridge showed him how much impact peer support and community service can have. He participated in group fitness activities and homeless outreach, including handing out food.
“That was just a big thing for me, so I really just wanted to dive into it, got certified, and then just went in,” Murray said.
Murray encourages people who need support to reach out, even if they are unsure how to begin.
“Just even joining the program, just connecting, just reaching out, saying that you need, you know, just extra support,” he said.
He said peer coaches understand what it is like to struggle and want people to know they are not a burden when asking for help.
“For us, we're like, we embrace that stuff, like, we know what it's like to be there, so we wanna be there for you,” Murray said.
Murray said accepting help can be the first step toward recovery.
“Kind of like the first step is accepting help, accepting that you need help rather than like you were just saying, oh, I'm just gonna push it off till it's a bigger problem,” he added.
The Bridge's work, Murray said, is ultimately about reminding people they do not have to face their struggles alone.
For more information about The Bridge, click here.
If you are a local coffee shop owner and would like to have Alan and Tony visit for their Convos and Coffee segment, email Tony.Keith@KOAA.com.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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