Liana Torres, Jennifer Harper and Laura Jordan will launch their podcast, “Healing Unscripted” this Sunday with hopes of bringing attention to the struggles impacting mental health across the Yampa Valley.

“What we’re trying to bring to light is really any and all of the mental health issues that we know are ongoing in our valley and in our communities,” Jordan said of the locally produced audio product. “Our podcast will be kind of a foundation to take other people’s true stories of any kind of struggle that they’ve been through.”

It could be alcohol and drug addiction, dealing with depression and suicide as well as the trauma that often leads to the issues associated with mental health issues. Other topics will include the isolation and loneliness that is often found in resort towns as well as the anxiety that many younger people are facing in the world today.

The creators of “Healing Unscripted” are inviting the community to a launch party from 1-4 p.m. on Sunday at the Steamboat Christian Center, 821 Dougherty Road. Food and dessert will be provided.

“It covers everything, and we don’t want to leave anything out,” Jordan said of the podcast. “We just want to give true life stories of people who have been through it, or have a family member who went through it, and what happened to them, what helps them, and then what resources we have here.”

Torres said the podcast will be released with two episodes this month on April 6 and April 20 and then every Sunday in May, which is mental health awareness month. It is free to subscribe to the podcast, and it will be available on TikTok, YouTube, X, Spotify, Apple Podcasts. There will also be links to the podcast on Facebook and Instagram.

The first episode will feature Zack Alexander, recovery pastor at Steamboat Christian Center, who details his struggles with sexual abuse, drug and alcohol abuse, suicide attempts and his road to recovery.

The podcast will be hosted by Torres, Harper and Jordan who say they are passionate about bringing awareness, hope and resources to those who may be hurting or have a loved one in crisis. The three women, who met in a faith-based recovery program, will bring their own very different life experiences and years of recovery work to the podcast.

In May, the podcast’s guests will include Mindy Marriott from Reaching Everyone Preventing Suicide and counselor Kim Horton, with Kim Horton Wellness. There will also be an episode featuring Morgan Bart, a 19-year-old college student who will share his stories to help raise awareness the pressures students also feel.

“He’s very bright, he is valedictorian, and he got accepted to a Texas honors college,” Torres said.  “On the surface, just because he doesn’t have an addiction, everything seems great, but he really gets overlooked. He’s very raw and real about his struggles with anxiety and peer pressure.”

Torres feels the episode exposes issues in these younger generations dealing with increased pressures in the classroom, and in life, that their parents and other adults may not even realize.

The creators hope that the “Healing Unscripted” podcast and the stories that are shared will benefit the community with more awareness and understanding and will help communities across the Yampa Valley.

 “The guests that we’ve had so far have been so comfortable in just telling their story,” Jordan said. “We don’t want it to be a doom and gloom. Let’s talk about suicide, let’s talk about what the struggles are and what people are struggling with today so that maybe we can help before it’s too late. Let’s just start getting the knowledge, and the resources out there.”