October 27th 2024.
For more than two decades, a Westminster nonprofit has been dedicated to providing temporary housing for families experiencing homelessness. However, in recent years, their focus has shifted towards preventing homelessness in the first place.
The organization, originally known as Adams County Interfaith Hospitality Network, was founded in 1998 by Kathleen Drozda. At the time, there were limited resources available for homeless families in the suburbs. According to Drozda, most individuals seeking housing in the area were not chronically homeless, but instead faced a temporary setback that led to falling behind on rent.
The Denver Post Season To Share is an annual fundraising campaign that supports The Denver Post Community Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Through this campaign, grants are awarded to local nonprofit agencies that offer life-changing programs to help low-income children, families, and individuals move out of poverty and towards stability and self-sufficiency. To learn more about this initiative, visit seasontoshare.com.
Initially, Growing Home provided short-term shelter in local churches for families in need. They later expanded to include a 20-unit apartment building for those participating in their long-term stability program. However, last year, the building was sold to Adams County, who now operates it as affordable housing. This allowed Growing Home to complete their transition towards focusing on prevention, according to CEO Veronica Perez.
Perez explains that the organization previously had set pathways for unhoused parents to follow, but now they tailor their coaching to meet the individual needs of each family. This may include providing English classes to improve job opportunities, helping with health insurance enrollment, or offering grocery assistance to stretch a family's budget. Currently, Growing Home only has the resources to support one coach who works with 25 families at a time. However, Perez notes that those who have completed the two-year program have seen a 30% increase in their income, providing them with some financial cushion in case of unexpected expenses.
The organization's ultimate goal is to expand their coaching program, but this would require a sustainable source of funding. Currently, Growing Home relies mostly on grants and donations from individuals, as well as contributions from retailers and other nonprofits who provide food for their clients. In addition to their coaching program, Growing Home also operates a food pantry and offers parenting classes. They also refer clients to other organizations when they are unable to provide direct assistance.
Since the federal government's expanded food assistance benefits ended earlier this year, the demand for food from Growing Home's pantry has increased. According to Perez, they now see about 100 new clients each week, in addition to their regulars. Last year alone, they provided food to 2,928 households, and they are on track to surpass that number this year.
Unfortunately, the organization can only serve 40 people per day, so many individuals are given a list of other resources and information about when they can try again. Perez notes that some people travel from as far as Boulder or Arapahoe County seeking assistance from Growing Home.
In addition to food assistance, the nonprofit also offers small amounts of rent assistance to prevent immediate eviction. However, federal law limits the amount they can provide to each family to $5,000 per year. With the rising cost of housing, this is often not enough. Last year, Growing Home was able to provide rent assistance to 220 families.
Perez explains that instead of families coming to them for assistance with the next month's rent, they are now seeing more clients who owe a significant amount of back rent in addition to the upcoming month's rent. This highlights the growing need for their services in the community.
With 35 employees and over 300 volunteers, Growing Home has an annual budget of almost $5 million. In 2023, they served 3,204 households, with a total of 13,343 individuals. To learn more about Growing Home and their efforts to prevent homelessness, you can visit their location at 3489 W. 72nd Ave., Suite 112 in Westminster, CO. Or, sign up for the daily Your Morning Dozen email newsletter to stay updated on the latest news and events in Colorado.
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