May Peak News
Gardening for Good
Spring has sprung once again! To celebrate the season, we partnered with Amp the Cause and Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck (BHFS) to beautify The Spot with fresh greenery. Amp the Cause generously bought gardening supplies on our behalf such as mulch and fresh greens, and volunteers from BHFS took time out of their Saturday to build new garden beds in the back patio for our youth.
Gardening sure can light up a smile!
Now that we have more dedicated space, we can’t wait to start gardening with youth and incorporating their home-grown veggies into our weekly youth-led cooking group! There’s nothing quite so grounding or mindful as getting down in the dirt, with messy hands and the goal of nurturing life; the tactile sensation of the soft earth, cool to the touch… that’s the good stuff.
How to Avoid Staff Burnout
Our staff do hard work. Day in and day out, they’re on the ground meeting youth where they are, making real connections and helping youth to heal from trauma all while working within a deeply flawed system. To be able to continue this essential work every day, Urban Peak provides different opportunities for staff to rest, refresh and enjoy themselves. May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and here are a few ways that Urban Peak centers our staff’s wellbeing.
Team outings such as bowling are a great way for staff to unwind!
New staff onboarding centers around what youth homelessness is, how trauma shows up for our clients and how to engage in crisis intervention. The goal is for staff to feel better equipped to support themselves and their clients through some of the crises and difficult situations that will inevitably come up in their work.
For existing staff, Urban Peak provides training throughout the year on a wide range of topics, both personal and professional. Recent trainings we’ve conducted include: “Working with Clients Experiencing Psychosis,” “Neurodivergence, Mental Health and Suicidality” and “Racial Justice in Interpersonal Relationships and Community.”
Vicarious trauma groups provide space for our staff to check in with themselves and each other, decompress from the job and learn tangible skills and tools to support their mental health. Staff had the option to choose from a glitter jar-making group, a movement-based group (dance, improv, theater, etc.) and a writing workshop!
Peak Spotlight
Mental health is a journey, not a destination. May is Mental Health Awareness Month, so we’d like to touch upon some of the ways that Urban Peak prioritizes the mental health and wellbeing of our youth and staff.
Yoga groups are also popular at The Spot.
Program groups, run by staff and (occasionally) volunteers, are one of our best tools for connecting, engaging with and working to heal our youth. After the transition to The Spot from the old Shelter resulted in changes to the program groups schedule, Spot Supervisor Michaela shared, “Everyone, staff and youth alike, noticed the need for more intentional engagement, connection, belonging and community-building opportunities.”
Now that youth are well settled at The Spot, we are thankfully able to expand our groups once again!
All groups are categorized as life skills, healthy relationships or recreation. And it’s not just staff who are leading these groups. Our basketball group is entirely youth-led (with staff supporting) and they play at the Denver Dream Center regularly!
A harm reduction group teaches safe practices around substance use as well as how to administer Narcan (an essential opioid overdose prevention tool). The Fainting Couch, a psychoeducation group, is led by staff trained in psychology to help equip youth with the knowledge, tools and practical advice they need to navigate their own mental health journeys. Healing Circles, a group for male-identifying youth, fosters positive relationships through meaningful conversations around healthy masculinity.
According to Michaela, “all stakeholders within our program have expressed increased feelings and moments of joy, understanding and learning since we have brought group programming back into this space.” As it should be. 😊
Partner Highlight
We are happy to announce that we’ve resumed our partnership with Deserving Dental, a nonprofit that provides mobile preventive dental care to Colorado’s most vulnerable and underserved populations.
Dental hygienist Jennifer Geiselhofer initially founded Dental at Your Door in 2015. After noticing that a significant number of underserved communities were not receiving dental care due to being uninsured or not qualifying for federal or state assistance, she created Deserving Dental in 2019 as a sister nonprofit to Dental at Your Door to close that gap by providing dental care free of charge.
Urban Peak and Deserving Dental have partnered since 2017, when Jennifer was still a one-woman show driving around Denver with her mobile clinic. Now, her growing staff of five partners with businesses across the city.
We are so grateful for Deserving Dental’s continued assistance. Their monthly visits help our youth see oral care and hygiene as more approachable, and they give youth the knowledge and confidence they need to follow up with continued dental care later in life. Our youth leave the dental chair with a better understanding of why oral hygiene is important, not only to their overall physical health but also their mental health. Youth Lucas shared that “I’m a lot happier now showing my teeth. I have a good smile, and I should keep it good.”
Deserving Dental has helped reassure our youth that there are medical providers who will treat them with dignity and that their health is worth taking care of. They are truly deserving of a positive dental care experience.
Youth Spotlight 😎
Rosey is a bright, charismatic, motivated, goal and family-oriented young woman. Since joining the Urban Peak family, she has excelled and demonstrates impeccable independent-living skills such as money management, organization and a strong ability to advocate for herself. She is the type to make sure all her ducks are in a row before meeting with her case manager, Tiara, to decide on a plan.
This month, Rosey is receiving her diploma from West High School! She has also been accepted into The University of New Mexico where she intends to study criminal justice. On the job front, Rosey is the first-ever Urban Peak youth to work at the Butterfly Pavilion, one of our newest Workforce Innovation Grant (WIG) partners. Go Rosey, breaking barriers!
Thanks to you, we’re able to provide Rosey with access to the resources she needs to exit homelessness and create a self-determined, fulfilled life. But our work continues. Will you commit to supporting our youth every month with a recurring gift of $15?
