Stories
of progress
Your stories connect us
They reveal our similarities, honor our uniquenesses, and challenge our flaws. Your stories are revealed in art, music, and spoken word, and help us find commonality in a way that has the power to normalize our shared struggles and move our community forward. Together we have the #PowerTo turn your stories into action and impact.
CHOW (Culinary Hospitality Outreach Wellness)
“The hospitality industry is rough. (With CHOW) I had the ability to share my story and where I was at mentally at that time…which was broken. It’s more than just going to a therapist. You have to build this network of people who you can be vulnerable with and share what you’re going through.”– Brother Luck, CHOW participant.
CHOW (Culinary Hospitality Outreach Wellness)
“The hospitality industry is rough. (With CHOW) I had the ability to share my story and where I was at mentally at that time…which was broken. It’s more than just going to a therapist. You have to build this network of people who you can be vulnerable with and share what you’re going through.”– Brother Luck, CHOW participant.
Star Girlz Empowerment, Inc.
“As young women, we’re always taught to be strong women, and we’re always looked upon as superheroes. But the things that we go through, the trauma and stress of everyday life really weigh us down.”
Women’s Wilderness
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLjmI08gFN0 Women’s Wilderness supports girls, women and LGBTQ+ people in accessing their power and improving their health through connections to the outdoors and community. Caring for Denver funded the Women’s Wilderness Outdoor...
Colorado Village Collaborative
“Something very powerful when you recover is you want to help other people going through the same thing.”
– Cuica Montoya, Colorado Village Collaborative
Make a Chess Move
At Make a Chess Move, an organization committed to dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline and teaching common sense education, the game of chess symbolizes real-life situations. This Caring for Denver grant recipient offers in-school and community-based programs in...
Apprentice of Peace Youth Organization’s Value of Life Campaign
The Apprentice of Peace Youth Organization’s Value of Life campaign was founded by youth, for youth after two violent incidents happened in the community. This movement counters youth violence and explores the intersectionality with mental health. Watch Apprentice of...
Santiago Jaramillo
“Growing up, I got in a lot of trouble. For a good part of my life I was heavily into drugs and alcohol and some of the gang stuff around here. With the gift of sobriety, I want to make ‘living amends,’ giving back and righting some of those wrongs. For me, that’s taking my passion for sobriety and my love for art and connecting with others who are suffering or carrying that stigma around.” #PowerTo advocate for my community
Thomas and Melanie
With personal experience of mental health and substance misuse challenges, Melanie and Thomas are strong advocates for changing how we think about and address these needs in our community. Listen to their very different journeys to well-being and insights on how they’re maintaining sobriety during the challenges of COVID-19.
Leslie Herod
#PowerTo Help https://youtu.be/OhXrQdm7a5Q As a state legislator, I hear facts, figures and anecdotes about substance abuse, mental health and recovery frequently. I work on issues like jail overcrowding, homeless youth and people in crisis. But as a daughter, a...
Dr. Clark
#PowerTo Thrive https://youtu.be/Pi8Vwp0jZNk As the President & CEO of the Mental Health Center of Denver, I work to inspire a culture of well-being among our staff, the people we serve and the greater Denver community. We work to deliver strengths-based,...
Melanie Stritch
#PowerTo Fight The Stigma https://youtu.be/JIvU63TS-cs 2 years sober I am not just a recovering alcoholic – I am a mother, a wife, a daughter, a soccer coach, a first-time college student. I am also living proof that there is a solution to addiction...
Eric B.
#PowerTo Thrive https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=69&v=HecSE-MGb1A&feature=emb_logo 2 years, 3 month, 12 days April 3, 2016 – clean date In August, I will start studying to be an addiction counselor. My path to get here has been long and difficult...
Adam Lerner
#PowerTo Act https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b68Xjqyzjz4&feature=emb_logo The museum is a place of belonging, expression, where outsiders are not just welcome but celebrated. Many who are here are those who would otherwise feel alone. In fact, creative people are...
Gabrielle Rodriguez
#PowerTo Create Change 28 Years Old I have been in recovery since 2012; recovery from co-occurring disorders. After I got sober, it was amazing what I could accomplish. I went back to school, bought and sold a house, got a job, moved to Colorado for graduate school,...
A State of Flow – Darin’s Story
Six years ago, I was sleeping in a stairwell in the dead of winter. I had been on the streets of Denver for seven years. My addiction to meth had taken me from the peak of graduating at the University of Colorado Business School, to being covered up in...
Artifacts of a Storm – Kristin’s Story
Artifacts of a Storm Art installation by Kristin Smith, an interdisciplinary artist from Aurora, Colorado. Artist Statement When a raindrop hits the earth, the measurement of its impact is minuscule; a moment of respite to a dry terrain. The single drop of rain is not...
Alan Smith
#PowerTo Make It https://youtu.be/4kCVIKv3MNs