Denver

Last week I (Mike) spent a couple days in Denver getting to know our ministry partners and just exploring the incredible city as we continue preparing for the summer. Aside from getting to know great people like John Gallegos from Denver Metro Ministries and enjoying the view from Lookout Mountain, I was blown away by many of the changes that the City is going through. As younger people with more money are moving into historically poor neighborhoods, those living in poverty are being driven out, often resulting in a continuance of their socioeconomic struggles or, for many, homelessness. The drastic increase in homelessness over the past several years within Denver led to a 2005 campaign by Mayor Hickenlooper to end homelessness in 10 years titled “Denver’s Road Home”.

Some Facts on Homelessness in Denver:

-64% of those who are homeless have children

-42% are women

-The three most common reasons cited for homelessness was loss of job, rising home prices, and breakup of a family.

Despite the overwhelming need, it was encouraging for me to see how impactful our community partners have been as well as humbling to hear their gratefulness for Youthworks’s continued presence in Denver.