January 27, 2016

Affordable Housing

What are Colorado United Ways doing about it?

  • Foothills United Way addresses chronic homeless populations by working with funder partners to bring provider organizations to a common table so they develop and implement solutions together for their common clientele, rather than working in silos and fracturing funding across multiple efforts. FHUW approaches attainability of housing from two angles: the supply of affordable units, and the family assets side (financial well-being, savings). Their role is to help move public opinion toward solutions.
  • Moffat County United Way partners with a local non-profit to provide emergency housing to residents as well as education regarding creating a future story for themselves.
  • United Way of Southwest Colorado partners with four shelters to help people meet basic needs and stabilize while setting goals to work toward self-reliance. They also partner with three other organizations that work with people at their current income levels to find stable housing and to learn personal financial skills to help them to remain in housing. UWSC serves as a funder and fiscal agent for Emergency Assistance through Pagosa Outreach Connection and Community Emergency Assistance Coalition. These groups help people cover bills in financial emergencies and serve as a homeless prevention measure.
  • Routt County United Way is leading a taskforce to understand homelessness in their county.
  • Pikes Peak United Wayis dedicated to investing in programs that help adults improve their education level and create a more financially secure future for themselves and their families. To further our belief that no one in our community should be homeless, ourIncome and Housing Stability team manages the Colorado Springs /El Paso County Continuum of Care on behalf of the community.
  • Bridging the Gap, a strategic program of Mile High United Way, works to ensure that young people exiting the child welfare system are connected to the resources, tools, and supportive services that guide them as they transition to adulthood. MHUW currently provides100 young people with an 18-month housing voucher, allowing for stabilization, goal setting and greater independence. An additional 42 youth with vouchers in hand are searching for a place to live.
  • United Way of Mesa County collaborates with local organizations on short term projects addressing emergency shelter, such as alternative shelter for homeless individuals suffering from the flu or other contagious illness.
  • Many Colorado United Waysare members of their local Homeless Coalitions, working to coordinate services and collaborate on solutions. Most also act as administrator for the federal Emergency Food and Shelter Program, which helps organizations fulfill housing needs both short and long term.
  • United Way of Larimer County partners with ‘Homeward 2020,’ a broad community coalition working with a 10 year plan to make homelessness rare, short lived and non-recurring through a “housing first” model. They staff the Murphy Center, a one-stop facility for homeless and near homeless individuals and families and are the fiscal agent for the programming aimed at getting the homeless stable and back into housing. UWLC also directly supports prevention efforts to keep people in their homes through the Homeless Prevention Initiative, and efforts to increase the availability of affordable housing stock.
  • United Way of Pueblo County partners with and funds local the local emergency shelter for families and victims of domestic violence, as well as general homelessness prevention and long term housing self-sufficiency.
  • In addition to investing in several homeless and housing community partners, United Way of Weld County facilitates and provides administrative support for the Weld Homeless Coalition, a collaborative of over 55 different nonprofit and government agencies, faith-based organizations and business leaders. Currently the Coalition is developing a Weld County Strategic Plan To Prevent and Address Homelessness , coordinating the annual Point in Time Count and analyzing affordable housing opportunities.
  • United Way of Eagle River Valleypartners with Habitat for Humanity.

January 27, 2016

Third Grade Reading Proficiency

What areColorado United Ways doing about it?

  • Foothills United Way’s‘Dream Big’ collaborative initiative has nine partners working to build a systems approach to support families and children so that kids can be successful in school.
  • United Way of Larimer County’s ‘Kids on Track’ Impact Area is focused on reading support, academic enrichment, mentoring, tutoring, and homework help. With their funded partners, they are helping more local youth close the learning gap and develop skills and behaviors that set them up for a future filled with promise and opportunity. UWLC also manages a Colorado Reading Corps program that has Reading Corps members in 20 local elementary schools.
  • United Way of Mesa County is partnering with Healthy Mesa County to develop shared community outcomes on school readiness and early literacy focusing on the whole child.
  • United Way of Southwest Colorado partners with eight different early childhood organizations to help expand capacity and scholarships for children. UWSWC provides scholarships to the Liberty School in Durango, a private school with a special focus on serving dyslexic students who are struggling in traditional classrooms, and also partners with after-school tutoring programs to help kids get extra support for their reading efforts.
  • Working toward a successful pipeline in educational growth from cradle to career, Pikes Peak United Way launched Success By 6, a nationally recognized early childhood movement, in 2011.Complimenting Success By 6, Pikes Peak United Way has partnered with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library to ensure that all children birth to five have access to new, age-appropriate books in their home.
  • United Way of Pueblo County works as the fiscal sponsor and active partner in the’ Executives Partnering to Invest in Children’ (EPIC) program. This program engages the business community in promoting early childhood education with a focus on reading and providing books, as well as helping parents with the skills and knowledge to become their child's first and most important teacher.
  • Routt County United Way supports in-school and after school reading programs.
  • Mile High United Waymaintains a portfolio of investments that strategically address the school readiness of young children and their third grade reading skills through strategies that include high quality early care and education, home visitation, parent engagement, and early childhood councils for quality and systems building activities.
  • Mile High United Waysupports 50 AmeriCorps volunteers in the Colorado Reading Corps, who provided tutoring to k-3rd grade students reading below grade level. The one-on-one tutoring resulted in 82% of the children who completed the program reading at or above grade level.
  • The ‘Social Innovation Fund’ (SIF) is a grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service administered by Mile High United Way. They are currently in the fourth year of a five year grant to raise the level of evidence with a select group of nonprofit organizations working to address issues of children’s school readiness and third grade reading. This work is foundational in establishing promising Colorado programs to have evidence based research.
  • Moffat County United Way partners with their early childhood coalition to provide the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program to the community as well as educating parents about the importance of reading to their child.
  • United Way of Eagle River Valley has partnered with the Literacy Project for more than a decade.
  • United Way of Weld County facilitates and manages Promises for Children, Weld County Early Childhood and community initiative to help ensure all children are ready for school and are reading proficiently by 3rd grade. Several evidence based programs are both managed directly by United Way of Weld Countyand funds are invested in community partners. Programs like Bright by Three, Best Start for Babies and Raise a Reader provide services to parents and programs like PASO and Early Care and Education Services provide services and professional development to child care providers. In 2015 over 10,000 books were collected and distributed to low income children through United Way of Weld Countyprograms.

January 27, 2016

Mental Health

What areColorado United Ways doing about it?

  • During fire and flood disasters, Foothills United Waysuccessfully deployed and refined a Mental Health Voucher program that gives folks a confidential way to seek and receive mental health services through a provider of their choice. The program has resulted in a wider number of people receiving services than would normally reach out to public providers. Mental Health Partners (our regional provider) is involved in many of our collaborative initiatives.
  • United Way of Southwest Colorado provides support for crisis services for the poor and substance abuse services at Axis Health System. Their model of integrated care seeks to bridge the gap between traditional health care and mental health care, while also reducing stigmas. UWSWC also supports 8 other organizations that work to reduce the effects of trauma suffered during specific types of events such as domestic violence or sexual assault.
  • Pikes Peak United Way is working to extend access to services and resources that will enable more people to live healthier, more productive, and independent lives.
  • Mile High United Way provides capacity building training aimed at supporting the providers and clients served through our Impact Investment Partners. Their intent is to transform the way their community - providers, practitioners, educators, parents and guardians - care for children who live in poverty and/or those who have experienced trauma.
  • Routt County United Way supports therapy in elementary schools so children can acquire coping skills early in their life. They also support the county-wide, 24/7, mental health hotline which gives those in need access to professional counselors around the clock.
  • One of United Way of Mesa County’s three priority areas focuses on mental health, with investments in suicide prevention, grief counseling, integrated mental and physical healthcare, and sliding scale counseling services.
  • United Way of Pueblo County addresses mental health issues by funding several mental health counseling programs, including the Mental Health Pro Bono Program, which provides volunteer mental health professionals for those unable to afford counseling on their own. They also provide mental health services for domestic violence victims and their families, as well as for children who have been impacted by child abuse.
  • Moffat County United Way partners with our local mental health clinic to provide mental health services to those who are unable to pay for services as well as substance abuse treatment.
  • United Way of Larimer County is supporting Mental Health and Substance Abuse services through a strong partnership with Summitstone Health Partners and in efforts to stabilize homeless individuals and families through comprehensive services offered at the Murphy Center.
  • United Way of Morgan County addresses suicide prevention through their ‘LifeSource Program,’ which teaches middle and high school youth what to look for in others who may be threatening suicide as well as how to reach out to them and help prevent the taking of lives. They offer financial assistance to mental health providers to help defray the cost of certifications, and fund suicide prevention and survivor groups. They also lead “Coffee and Conversations,” a monthly meeting of churches, non-profit agencies, government entities and others who are working on finding solutions to the homelessness and hunger common among people with mental health issues due to addiction.
  • United Way of Weld County is in partnership with the North Colorado Health Alliance and North Range Behavioral Health as one of the three backbone organizations building the Weld Thriving Dashboard. This system will help our community achieve goals and foster collective impact in the areas of physical and mental health, education and livelihood and addressing a holistic approach. Through the United Way of Weld CountyAmericorps VISTA project we have increased capacity by placing resources in agencies providing mental health services.
  • United Way of Eagle RiverValleypartners with A Way Out, River Bridge Regional Center, and The Samaritan Center of the Rockies, all offering mental health services.