March Peak News
Youth Spotlight
Chianne came to Urban Peak about two years ago, looking for help to find employment and housing. She worked with her case manager to obtain the legal documents she needed to work, and she briefly moved into a tiny home community. From there, Chi “self-resolved,” meaning that she met all her goals for her time with Urban Peak. She found and moved into an apartment by herself, and with assistance from Urban Peak and the Colorado Village Collaborative to pay a deposit and her first month’s rent, she now earns enough to pay rent on her own each month!
Chianne explained that the support she received with housing, employment , and building a sense of community helped keep her motivated to navigate through homelessness. She shared that “In the future, I would love to work toward becoming a peer navigator or case manager, to assist people going through the same things I went through and give back to the community.” That’s the spirit, Chi! Going through an unimaginable experience like being unhoused and coming out the other side motivated and eager to help others is not easy, but truly needed. We look forward to seeing where your dreams take you, Chi!
Bonding and Balling 🏀
Every week, peer navigator Xenny and case manager Patrick accompany a group of youth to the Denver Dream Center for some pick-up basketball. The casual games offer a fun way to release some energy and escape from tough situations for a bit, but they also provide a way for staff to connect with youth on a different level.
“The time we spend playing lets them build a better bond with each other and helps us build a better relationship off the court,” Xenny explained. “They want me to know what’s going on in their lives. They’ll usually vent to us, and I’ve had some deep conversations. They love to challenge me.” This is a testament to the trusting bonds our staff build with young people to make them feel comfortable and safe.
Basketball has quickly become a favorite activity for many youth and Xenny is hoping to build on the success. He is looking to partner with other organizations in the area to expand the range of sports opportunities available to youth, such as lacrosse, hockey, soccer and mixed martial arts. He hopes that someday soon we’ll have a different sport activity available every day of the week!
Peak Spotlight
We were excited to attend the Newcomer Hiring Fair hosted at Emily Griffith Technical College’s Aspen Hall this month. The event, designed specifically to support immigrants with finding employment, was organized by Emily Griffith, the Spring Institute for Intercultural Learning and the Colorado Office of New Americans.
Representatives from industries like construction and hospitality helped to show our youth that there are all kinds of job opportunities available for folks who are still learning English. The fair’s hosts also made sure to have plenty of interpreters available so that communication was not a barrier to employment.
The tricky bit, though, was the need for a work permit to even be considered for a job. Spot supervisor Kate explained that “you need money to afford a work permit, but you can’t make money without working!” It costs roughly $450 to obtain a work authorization document, which would be a significant hurdle for many families in Denver, much less those that have just arrived with next to nothing.
This problematic Catch-22 has been mitigated in the past with support from our partners at organizations like the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network (RMIAN), who are often able to help cover the cost of the permit. Urban Peak staff can also sometimes waive the fee with a “verification of homelessness” document, but these solutions do not address the core problem: a broken system that needs to be re-tooled from the ground up, with the most vulnerable among us in mind. And so, our work continues.
Partner Highlight
Staff at The NXT Chapter have been awesome partners to Urban Peak in the months since we first began working together. Their work focuses on ensuring that ex-offenders, or folks leaving the jail/prison system, have the resources they need for a smooth transition back into society after being released. These resources can look very similar to our outreach efforts, such as with help obtaining an ID card, providing clothing and hygiene items, bus fare, employment resources and more.
Every month, NXT Chapter donates a hot dinner for our youth. Additionally, several members of their staff (many of whom have lived experience as ex-offenders) visit The Spot every Friday to run what they call the SEED program. SEED is an acronym that stands for Self Educating Empowering Developer. Within the group, youth can explore what these different words mean for them on their journeys to exit homelessness, with each letter getting individual focus each week.
It's invaluable for our youth, some of whom may have already been incarcerated, to be able to interact with grown adults who have been through the same experience and come out the other side. Not only showing them that change is always possible with proper support, but also that there are people who care about them, no matter where they’re coming from. ❤️
There's No Meal Like Home
Alika meal prepping
To better serve the diverse needs of recent migrants arriving in Denver, staff at The Spot have been working overtime to come up with different things they can do to make these newcomers feel welcome and at home.
As we know, cuisine is an integral part of many different cultures and communities. A simple meal can transport you through time and space. That’s why our staff have been conducting surveys among migrant youth to better understand what kinds of culturally relevant meals they’d like to see. Staff have also taken it upon themselves to work with youth (like those pictured) to create dishes from a different culture for dinner every Sunday night!
It's the little things like a familiar meal or a shared life experience that help folks feel at home in a community, and we’re so glad to able foster that kind of environment in our spaces. Each of us is a small part of the Urban Peak family, and we must do what we can to support each other through hard times.
The Mothership is Expanding to Shelter Youth Aged 21-24!
Urban Peak prides itself on being the only nonprofit in the Denver metro area that works specifically with youth ages 15 to 24 who are experiencing homelessness. Due to licensing restrictions that come with providing shelter to minors in the same space as young adults, Urban Peak has been unable to offer overnight shelter services to our youth ages 21 to 24. Instead, they must choose between sleeping in large, congregate shelters for general adult populations or fend for themselves overnight.
Thankfully, with the completion of The Mothership this summer, we will finally be able to expand our shelter services to include all the youth we serve, up to their 25th birthday! This change will provide the first youth-focused beds in the region for this age group, while increasing our capacity to offer 32 beds that are specifically for young adults. Additionally, youth can graduate to progressively independent housing across our six “neighborhoods” on floors two and three, sleeping up to 84 people.
In 2023, 42% of the young people we served were 21 or older when they first came to us. That’s why we’re excited to finally meet this critical need and close a glaring gap in our services for almost half of our clients. For youth like Titus, who was featured in last year’s impact report, expanding our age range will represent a significant improvement over his past shelter experiences.
Too old to access Urban Peak’s shelter for youth at the time, Titus spent many of his days at The Spot. But he slept at an adult shelter, a place that felt far less comfortable or hospitable. There, 150 adult men sleep in a single dorm, 400 men total in a congregate shelter. “Those other shelters, they don’t give you the respect you deserve,” he explained. “There are no stalls in the bathrooms, no privacy for the shower. It feels like a jail.”
With the opening of The Mothership, our youth won't have to suffer such dehumanizing experiences, which will allow them to focus their energy on exiting homelessness. What a difference it will make for the young adults we serve to have stable living situations in a space that fosters feelings of safety, community and support, just as they deserve.
The Mothership’s opening will soon be upon us, and we need your help to ensure that youth like Titus can get the support they need during this transition. For $30/month, you can provide one youth with a night of shelter off the streets. Will you commit to becoming a recurring donor and help support unhoused youth in our community?
