Announcing Urban Peak's Temporary Shelter Transition to The Spot

Urban Peak’s transformative new overnight Shelter, The Mothership, will be breaking ground soon, and we cannot wait!

This exciting project means that we’ve moved our current shelter to The Spot downtown (2100 Stout St). The Drop-In Center on the first floor will continue to function as our day shelter for all youth ages 15 through 24, while the second floor is being converted into our temporary overnight shelter for youth ages 15 through 20.

Renovations have been going on for months, but this past week we finally moved all youth, staff and belongings from the old shelter to the new. During this transition, we want to be sure to provide our youth with as much routine and comfort as is possible, starting with three hot meals per day, and we need your help to make that happen.

Currently, we can accept meal donation drop-offs at The Spot, which can be either prepared at home or purchased and delivered. Dinners, including on weekends, are most needed, but any meal donations will be gratefully accepted. Meals from one of our preferred partners (including Steuben’s, Snooze A.M. Eatery and Little India) are especially welcome! We also ask that meals be large enough to feed 70 people.

If you have the capacity to help with meals during this period, please reach out to donate@urbanpeak.org or call 303-974-2950. Thank you for being the spark and helping us to maintain a sense of stability for our youth. We couldn’t do this work without your support.

Also, check out the amazing new mural at The Spot! It was painted by volunteers connected to us by our architecture firm Shopworks Architecture.

Urban Nights' 2022 Urban Legends

Jen and Josh Wolkon are our 2022 Urban Legends, being recognized at Urban Nights on September 23rd for their incredible support and partnership with Urban Peak over the years.

The Wolkons own Secret Sauce Food & Beverage, the parent company for local Denver eateries ACE Eat Serve and Steuben’s, two of our preferred meal partners. For almost two decades, Jen and Josh have supported Urban Peak through various means, be it through their Plates for the Peak fundraisers on our behalf, their generous weekly donation of meals before, during and after the pandemic, and even an Urban Peak-themed cocktail on the Steuben’s menu that supports our programs!

“I think back to when we were trying to identify a cause, we identified youth as a chance to really make a difference. It becomes harder and harder, especially for people experiencing homelessness who are older or have aged through the system,” Josh explained. “If we can stop it early, here’s a way where we can make change for our future. For the future of Denver and our communities. We just do our small part.”

Their small part makes a huge difference for our staff and youth, and we want to give Jen and Josh Wolkon a big thank you for everything they’ve done for us these last 20 years. Here’s to the next 20! 🥂

We're excited to celebrate the Wolkons at Urban Nights, September 23rd at the Fillmore! Registrations available now at www.urbanpeak.org/un22.

Peak Spotlight

Urban Peak CEO Christina Carlson was recently chosen by the Denver Business Journal as one of their 2022 Outstanding Women in Business! We are honored to have one of Denver’s “leaders driving change, earning admiration, inspiring the community and delivering results.”

“Social justice is at the heart of Christina’s work - informing her passion, education and community contributions,” Urban Peak board member Kirsten Benefiel wrote when she nominated Christina. “[She] is an innovator, a problem solver and an extraordinary listener. She acts on staff feedback and makes sure the organization lives its cores values. Christina is the real deal: a humble, servant-led leader whose energy knows no bounds.”

Congratulations Christina, and thank you to the Denver Business Journal for this honor!

Partner Highlight

Denver Test Prep has been an incredible partner to Urban Peak since they first reached out to establish a relationship with us last year.

Denver Test Prep (DTP) supports us with their time and knowledge in all areas of education. DTP tutors have used their energy and passion to engage our youth in areas such as GED subject tutoring, high school classwork support and post-secondary/college tutoring. DTP and tutors are onsite at the Shelter for 3.5 hours every week providing vital academic assistance in conjunction with our Support Services team.

A youth previously featured in our April newsletter, Shilas, had a lot of apprehension surrounding school. Due to negative interactions at their previous school, Shilas was discouraged from completing their high school diploma/equivalency. After one session working with Chaye from DTP, however, Shilas gained the confidence to continue pursuing their GED. Through intentional tutoring and compassionate interaction, Chaye was able to model how Shilas already had the knowledge necessary to be successful. Shilas went on to pass all four GED tests within one week based on the knowledge and confidence gained by their time working with Chaye and DTP.

We are grateful for Denver Test Prep’s critical work with our youth and are looking forward to continuing and expanding our partnership with them into this next school year as we transition to The Spot.

UP Support Services

Through another scorching summer, our support services team has been working hard to get youth out in the community while still staying cool and off the streets.

Urban Peak’s Support Services team help youth experiencing homelessness increase their independence, build positive relationships, make progress to achieve academically and develop employment and career skills. These critical services support youth as they work to become self-sufficient and maintain safe and stable housing.

One way we’ve accomplished this is with trips to Lakeside Amusement Park and Pirates Cove, because our youths’ wellbeing comes from a well-rounded and joyful experience of life, not just hard skills and job training. These trips provide youth with the opportunity to meet and engage with our full support services team, learn a little bit more about our educational and employment opportunities and just hang out with each other. What’s more, we had record-breaking youth turnout and the outing to Lakeside was attended by youth from ALL our programs, an Urban Peak first!

We’re grateful to our volunteers for supporting our staff and youth and allowing everyone to focus on having fun. The joy and excitement among our youth was palpable, and they wore the smiles to prove it. You can bet we’ll be back!