January Peak News
Wish List
Winter gloves, jackets and hats on our general wish list. Lysol wipes, trash bags, mops and other cleaning supplies on our housing wish list.
Jako (right) enjoys a delicious meal with his favorite staff 😊
Youth Spotlight
Jako was awarded Youth of the Week and recently celebrated his achievement by having lunch with his favorite Urban Peak staff! He first came to Urban Peak when he connected with our outreach team back in March of 2023 and now he regularly visits our Drop-In Center.
Deeply thoughtful and intelligent, Jako loves to talk about philosophy, literature and music. He is empathetic and engaging and can have a conversation about any topic with any person. Some of his favorite authors include Jack Kerouac and Hunter S. Thompson (his favorite book is The Dharma Bums by Kerouac). If you ever need a book recommendation, Jako is the best person to go to! He loves games like Magic the Gathering, Dungeons and Dragons and many other board and card games.
Jako has been putting in the work and it shows every day. He will soon be moving into a sober living facility, and he is super pumped. You’ve got this, Jako!
2024 marks a very exciting year for Urban Peak as we will finally be opening the doors of The Mothership, our new four-story campus that will include shelter space for minors as well as young adults.
Thanks to your generosity, we’ve been able to provide young people like Jako with access to the resources he needs to exit homelessness and create a self-determined, fulfilled life.
Will you commit to becoming a recurring donor for $15/month and help youth like Jako to thrive?
Peak Spotlight
Urban Peak youth and staff were thrilled to welcome representatives and players from the Colorado Avalanche to The Spot for some mixing and mingling this month! Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, owner of the Denver Nuggets, the Colorado Rapids and the Avs, has been a strong supporter of Urban Peak for years and we’re excited to be working even more closely together!
Fredrik Olofsson and Jack duke it on our gaming console
📸 Michael Martin Photography
At The Spot, defensive player #56, Kurtis MacDermid, and left-wing player #22, Fredrik Olofsson, found time in their busy schedules to come hang out and play games with our youth. And they didn’t come empty-handed! They donated dental hygiene kits and brought some autograph cards and delicious cookies as well (Avs branded of course).
Urban Peak youth like Jack and Gage (pictured above and below, respectively) were quite chill with Kurtis and Fredrik as they played a giant game of Connect 4 and battled it out on a recently donated Marvel arcade console. Other youth and a few staff were not chill at all but were VERY excited to get to hang with the players, take pictures and ask questions. Kurtis MacDermid was asked how tall he is on at least three separate occasions. (The answer? 6 feet, 5 inches.)
Local giant Kurtis MacDermid and Gage enjoy a round of giant connect four
Colby is all smiles after meeting his favorite player, Kurtis MacDermid
Additionally, housing case manager Sarah had the chance to speak about her role and Urban Peak’s work as well as the resources and support that we offer specifically for LGBTQ+ youth, who are vastly overrepresented in the homeless population. What’s more, the interview is airing live for Pride Night at an Avs game!
We appreciate the Avs coming by and hanging with us, and for their help shining a spotlight on the all-too-common barriers and discrimination that our queer young people face just for being themselves. Together with the support of this community, we can create a better world where everyone is accepted and loved unconditionally.
Urban Peak has been lucky to receive visits from the Denver Broncos and the Colorado Avs. Can we get all of Denver’s major pro teams? Time will tell.
Partner Highlight
We are privileged to work with many different partners across our amazing Denver community, from mental health and wellness to legal services to our local and state government.
One such partner is DaVita, a healthcare organization focused on kidney care and one of our longest running, most supportive relationships. Their staff (across several different teams) are great at finding touchpoints with us throughout the year and frequently stop by The Spot to serve a meal, drop off hygiene kits for youth, or even provide supplies for holiday parties.
We’re also grateful to Jim Hearty, Chief Compliance Officer at DaVita and longtime member of the Urban Peak Board of Directors, for his relentless dedication to our youth over the years. Whether gathering staff to put together care kits for youth or supporting our fundraisers, Jim’s support is instrumental in allowing us to do what we do best.
As Jim explained, “DaVita has been excited to support Urban Peak over many years because of the valuable work it does in our community – serving vulnerable youth experiencing homelessness with the goal of helping them to exit homelessness and get on a path to more stability and opportunity.”
We’re grateful for everything that Jim and the wider DaVita community have done for our youth, and are looking forward to many more fun events to come. It takes a village!
January Mothership Update!
We are now only six months away from opening The Mothership, our new four-story campus that will offer shelter, integrated services and progressively independent levels of living space for youth.
Construction is moving along and every day is bustling with activity. This month a huge skylight was installed in the light court, a stairwell in the center of the building that lets natural light onto all four floors. The rough-in for the electrical systems that power the building’s elevator also began this month, and trellises are being installed on the two outdoor terraces.
We can’t wait for our youth to experience this incredible building. Six months and counting!
