June Peak News
Urban Nights is Back!
Urban Nights is back, September 23rd at the Fillmore Auditorium!
To kick off the celebrations in anticipation of the return of our biggest fundraiser of the year, this week we hosted our Urban Nights kick-off party at Ace Eat Serve, a restaurant owned by our 2022 Urban Legends honorees Jen and Josh Wolkon! The excitement and energy in the room was palpable as folks heard more about the event from our chairs and co-chairs Michelle Morgridge, Nate Angell, John Farnam and Paul Heitzenrater. Afterward, everyone enjoyed a few games of ping-pong and got the chance to pick their Urban Nights tables.
Urban Nights, presented by the Morgridge Family Foundation, will be a celebration of fashion, art and philanthropy featuring musical guest Too Many Zooz. We cannot wait to see you all there! Registrations available now.
Dungeons & Dragons &... Feelings?
Social-emotional development and support is a critical component of Urban Peak's supportive services for youth. Often times, this work can look more like play, at least on the surface.
Orion rolls his D20 (a twenty-sided die) for initiative during a game of D&D
But Arlene (she/they), our newest social emotional clinician and former therapist, approaches her job by literally meeting our youth where they're at: Hanging out with them across our programs, getting to know them better and trying to figure out how she can bridge the gap between what they want and what they need. Arlene describes her work as "providing youth with a safe container to heal from developmental trauma." She does this through play, exploration and working with youth to make conscious, healthy connections.
As someone who knows what it’s like to have experienced homelessness, Arlene has always had a strong drive to help folks along their healing journey. One way she does this is by playing Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), which she’s already incorporated at Urban Peak’s Shelter!
“A big healing journey for me was playing D&D and building community, and especially with my gender identity too,” Arlene explained. “It was a really cool way for me to play out an avatar in a fantasy world and get to explore all these challenges and moments and work as a collective without it being super triggering. And you also get to be creative and build friendships without sitting in front of a screen.”
Playing D&D together with youth gives Arlene the opportunity to ask them about their reasoning for their in-game decisions, which lets them “talk about their choices and what they’re doing in a third-person reference point. It’s a way to explore your trauma, explore who you are – your own self – without even realizing it. It’s magic.”
Peak Spotlight
Urban Peak staff members Celeste, Kadejah, Savannah and Madison spearheaded Urban Peak’s first annual Juneteenth event. It was also one of the first times this year that youth and staff from all of our programs gathered together as a community!
“Artistic expression of some sort seems to hit across all Urban Peak programs whether its poetry, music, art or dance,” Celeste shared. Everyone vibed along to music made by our youth at the Drop-In Center’s music studio and had a great time painting expressions of their Black pride.
We partnered with local Black-owned business CJ’s Sticky Fingers who generously donated traditional cultural food that Kadejah and youth Justin helped to prepare and present. Denver Public Library staff also generously rolled up in a van to showcase books by and about Black folks.
Youth designed their own tie-dye shirts using chlorine on black t-shirts to make dope Juneteenth-themed looks. Some chose to use stencils with phrases like “Black Lives Matter” while others explored freehand style.
Youth and staff also created their own artistic masterpieces, some of which were proudly displayed for sale at Peak Thrift! Many chose to paint something inspired by their Black culture. Staff member Tamisha painted a beautiful wooden canvas in the colors of the Pan-African flag. “I am beyond grateful for the amount of support we have received across Urban Peak to make this happen,” Celeste said, “and cannot wait to see how we can elevate further for next year!”
Partner Highlight
With June being Pride month, what better way to celebrate love and community togetherness than with a party for a good cause!
Our longtime supporters Mike Orr and Bryan Fleming recently hosted a Pride Party at their home to benefit Urban Peak, raising over $30,000 to support our programs! What’s more, this was the fifth annual Pride Party that they’ve thrown (taking a break for COVID, of course) and in all that time, they've raised more than $120,000!!
Photos by Al Robinson Photography
LGBTQ youth are vastly overrepresented in homeless populations and, unfortunately, it’s no different at Urban Peak. That’s why we’re so grateful for supporters like Mike and Bryan, who make it possible to provide personalized support and life-saving services to our queer and gender-expansive youth. We simply could not do it without this incredible Denver community. Happy Pride Month, Urban Peakers!
A Bittersweet Farewell to Peak Thrift
On Saturday, June 25th, Peak Thrift closed its doors for the last time. As a fun, yet bittersweet send off, Urban Peak’s board secretary David Jennings and his wife Kelly bought and brought all the supplies to set up a hot-dog stand outside the store and grill free franks for the community!
Peak Thrift has been an incredible part of the Urban Peak family. We’ll really miss being able to connect directly with folks on the ground in the Sunnyside/Globeville communities, and we have been so appreciative of your support over the last six years! We hope you’ll continue to #ThriftForGood and #BeTheSpark.
Prom Night
Urban Peak’s Shelter hosted its annual youth prom this month, and it’s always a blast! Our social emotional coordinator, Savannah, shared that many youth who participated were grateful to have the experience, as many of them never had the chance to attend their own high school prom. She explained how she could sense that “many of them were more comfortable attending the Shelter prom as they could show up as their authentic selves without feeling like they needed to adhere to typical gendered dress.”
We’re so happy to be able to provide a space for our youth without judgement or harassment. The fear and anxiety surrounding identity and gender expression is very real, especially for our LGBTQ youth, many of whom are only just beginning their journey of self-discovery. Urban Peak has always strived to provide support, respect and protection for everyone who walks through our doors. It’s wonderful that our youth feel comfortable expressing themselves, perhaps for the first time.
“It was so nice to see youth break out of their shell and do a little two-step,” Savannah added. We know prom can be an awkward experience, so it’s great to hear about folks finding ways to celebrate and enjoy themselves as a community. We’re already thinking of ways to top ourselves next year!
Youth Spotlight
Cain originally moved to Colorado with a family member from Florida, but he began experiencing homelessness after they had a falling out and he was left alone and stranded. He fortunately found Urban Peak and accessed our shelter services, and he’s shared how he was grateful that Denver had a youth-specific shelter where he felt safe and understood, especially after a bad experience he had while staying at an adult shelter.
Cain has been making great progress settling into Urban Peak’s housing program and is learning to master day-to-day life skills like cooking, cleaning and making meal plans on a budget.
He is also working with community partners to navigate the difficult process of applying for disability benefits and is engaging with Urban Peak’s employment services to help discover the right career. He’s not exactly sure what he wants to do in the future for a career (are any of us?), but he is excited to take advantage of the help he is getting, work hard and try new things. That’s the spirit, Cain!
