Youth Have Officially Moved into The Mothership!
On Tuesday, Urban Peak staff stood at attention in the Great Room, eagerly awaiting the first busload of youth being dropped off at their new home. As our first few clients stepped off the bus and through the entranceway, the whole room burst into applause and cheers. It's official, Urban Peak youth have moved into The Mothership! 🎉🎉
The Mothership is an innovative project that has been in the works for almost a decade. What was once just an ambitious idea has blossomed into a beautiful campus that transforms young lives and serves as a national model in the field of youth homelessness. Our youth deserve a beautiful and dignified space built with their specific needs in mind.
"It feels like a breath of fresh air to be at The Mothership."
— Azul, Urban Peak Youth
Azul (left) and Onyx were excited to start unpacking in their new dorm, part of The Peak neighborhood for youth who are currently working or in school. They had previously been dormmates while staying at The Spot and got along well, so they knew it’d be a good fit to stay together in this new, more intimate space.
On the other side of the building, Marita Wyatt, Urban Peak’s director of housing, stood by the entrance to the outdoor patio and watched with a soft smile as several youth started a casual game of basketball on the new half-court.
“So far [The Mothership]’s pretty nice. I already introduced myself to [Urban Peak CEO] Christina because that’s what work taught me: you gotta network.”
— Gage, Urban Peak Youth
Gage had previously aged out of our shelter services back at at The Spot, but thanks to our newly expanded age range (12-24), he now has a safe place to sleep in the young adults’ shelter. Gage has played piano for 15+ years and also dabbles in guitar; when asked if he’s looking forward to using the new music studio, his response was simple: “hell yes.” 🎧🔥
Over 300 people turned out on July 24th for The Mothership's grand opening! Featured speakers included Christina Carlson, CEO; Dick Thomas, UP Board Member; Chad Holtzinger, President, Shopworks Architecture; Daniel Sparks, Interim Youth Shelter Program Manager; and Denver's own mayor, Mike Johnston.
“We needed a space where people could feel safe and find love and find security. It had to be about our staff, it had to be about addressing trauma, and most importantly it had to be about youth.”
— Christina Carlson, Urban Peak CEO
“The intentional design of this space is trauma-informed and offers hope... it’s designed solely for the population that we serve – not just as a shelter, but a space to grow and develop. It's an environment that feels good and enables... youth to grow in a very sustainable way.”
— Daniel Sparks, Interim Youth Shelter Program Manager
“This is exactly the kind of work the city is proud to do: meeting young people where they’re at and giving them the best possible chance to get back on their feet. The Mothership is what love looks like in a physical form.”
— Mayor Mike Johnston
This project would not have been possible without the collective efforts of all our diverse partners and the power of this community.
We are grateful to our friends at Shopworks Architecture for their pioneering research on trauma-informed design and their work incorporating those principles into this space, Deneuve Construction for building the massive Mothership in just over a year and a half and BlueLine Development, Inc. for their help with the project’s development.
