Videos -- About us, Heroes of Hope
Colorado Homeless Families interview video (takes about 15-20 minutes to
download.)
INTERVIEW Video for Quick Time Player - possibly the best choice
Try instead: Streaming video of the interview video
Bike Giveaway - Powerpoint Presentation - coming soon
From Homelessness To Self-Sufficiency
Colorado Homeless Families (CHF) is a non-profit transitional housing program. CHF serves families with children who are classified as "New Poor" (families who are homeless for the first time) or "Working Poor" (families who earn low wages and cannot keep up with the rising cost of living, including housing).
CHF houses families for 18 months to 2 years, during which time the adults must be attending school and/or working in a position that will allow their families to become self-sufficient by the end of the program. A variety of programs have been established to aid families in reaching this goal.
CHF serves approximately 47 - 72 families annually, with a daily residential population of approximately 240 - 360 individuals daily.
!!!Time to Celebrate!!!
The CHF staff recently celebrated with 6 of its families for buying their own homes. Congratulations families! We wish you the best!
Service Projects to CHF
A Boy Scout organized his troop to put together an Easter Egg Hunt for the children at CHF, as well as a potluck dinner for the families.
Girl Scouts donated their cookies to CHF Families this past spring.
Did you know...?
-61% of the homeless families in CHF are headed by single-parents.
-A gift of $36 will help support people at CHF that need counseling to help them work though the challenges that they face in order to become self-sufficient and lead productive, fulfilling lives.
-$5 per week provides annual medical exams and shots for two uninsured children.
-$25 per week provides meals for a family of four for five days.
Many people think that people who become homeless are lazy and don’t work. This, however, is not the case. There are people who become homeless who are working two or three jobs. The “working poor” become homeless because they get paid minimum wage, and often that is not enough to support the basic needs of their families. I want to share with you Betty’s story so you can understand how homelessness can happen to hard working people.
As a young child, Betty began experiencing emotional and mental abuse by her parents. Her dad told her she was good for nothing, stupid, a waste of space. Her mother was always criticizing her and putting her down. Her parents were not supportive or encouraging when it came to going to school or doing homework. Betty grew up hearing her family say negative things about her, and as a result she believed that she would never become anyone special and she would not have a positive impact on the world.
Betty started working at a fast food restaurant as a cashier when she was in high school. She made friends at work. People liked her. She was good at her job. After a few years, Betty was promoted to Manager and she was so excited. For once, she found something she was good at. She was a great supervisor and her employees liked her!
Unfortunately, Betty only made $6 an hour as a Manager. Though she was working almost 50 hours a week the money she was bringing home was not enough to support herself and her two children. She could barely afford to put a roof over their heads and place food on the table. Soon, Betty found herself and her two children homeless.
When Betty came to Colorado Homeless Families she was told that as a condition of being in our program she would have to go back to school, get a degree and/or job skill so she could become more equipped to support herself and her two girls. Betty began to feel hopeless and couldn't stop thinking about all of the negative things her parents had always told her----how she wouldn’t amount to anything, that she was useless and stupid. Betty didn’t think she could go to school. She argued with me telling me she wasn’t going to comply, yet I told her that she had to if she wanted to live in the CHF program.
Soon, Betty enrolled in Denver Opportunity Medical Assistant Program. She loved school, and despite everything her parents had always told her, she was a great student. She was amazed at how well she was doing and she was surprised at how much she loved it! She got straight A’s in all of her classes during the 9 month program. When she graduated, she thought she would never find a job as a medical technician. She became depressed. Again, she began thinking about everything negative her parents had always told her and it was hard for her to think of herself as a useful and productive person.
Betty needed ongoing counseling and a supportive environment to help her overcome the emotional abuse she had experienced as a child that had left her scarred. She needed a very affirmative, encouraging, and positive voice to overcome the negative thoughts that had been instilled in her from her past. Over the two years she lived at CHF, Betty was able to reprogram her mind and realize that she was a valuable person and had skills and talents to share with others. Despite her doubts, she was hired and received double the pay of her past job. She is enjoying her life more and can now provide for herself and her children.
Making Headlines...
May, 2007, CHF received a grant from the Daniels Fund. Read more about the CHF Grant From Daniels Fund.
In September 2004, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition contacted CHF with an offer to include the building of the last duplex by Home Aid Colorado, complete the recreational area and remodel the main floor of the Family Educational and Resource Center for Colorado Homeless Families as an episode on the show.
(Read here)
Metro Denver area (7 counties) and to help them become self-sufficient within 18 months to two years.