News Release
[March 27, 2025 – Denver, Colo.]: Caring for Denver Foundation is proud to invest more than $10.3 million in 28 youth-focused organizations working to close critical gaps in mental health and substance misuse care.
Founded and funded by the people of Denver through a sales tax initiative, Caring for Denver continues to invest in solutions that address the city’s mental health and substance misuse needs.
“Investing in our youth is one of the most powerful steps we can take to build a stronger, more vibrant Denver,” said Mayor Mike Johnston “By prioritizing mental health and substance misuse care, we are creating a solid foundation of care and support for our city’s youth. This funding is a crucial investment in our future leaders, ensuring they have the resources and care they need to thrive.”
These grants fall under one of the Foundation’s core funding areas, Youth, which prioritizes preventative care, crisis reduction, and increasing youth’s ability to manage life stressors. It also supports families, caregivers, and allies to ensure youth receive comprehensive care that addresses trauma, mental health, and substance misuse. The goal is to provide proactive, personalized care that affirms Denver’s youth while uplifting the families and communities who support them
“There is a higher demand for services that are relevant and accessible to youth, reflecting their identities and experiences. These funded programs will increase connections and belonging and provide more care in trusted spaces, creating safe spaces for our Denver youth to heal in,” said Lorez Meinhold, Caring for Denver’s executive director.
This funding supports trauma-informed, equitable, and wraparound care that reflects the diverse needs and identities of Denver’s youth. It will expand access to care for youth of color, youth experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity, LGBTQ+ youth, teen mothers and birthing people, and youth affected by trauma, bereavement, or foster care. These grants are helping ensure youth receive consistent, affirming mental health care in safe, trusted spaces — where they feel seen, heard, and supported.
Youth
Caring for Denver Foundation approved 28 grants totaling more than $10.3 million to youth-serving nonprofit organizations within the City and County of Denver in the Youth priority area.
5280 High School – Enhancing the sustainability of 5280 High School’s prevailing framework for school-based recovery programming and mental health support while broadening access to the Altitude Youth Recovery Program, an after-school initiative for youth seeking community in recovery.
AUL Denver – Sustaining mental wellness wraparound supports and interventions for students and families through bilingual mental health services that are responsive to the mental health needs of students.
Catholic Charities and Community Services of the Archdiocese of Denver, Inc. – Launching an evidence-based, behavioral health program within the shelter to clinically address behavioral/mental health issues among youth 0-26 to increase their resiliency to trauma.
Colorado “I Have A Dream” Foundation – Expanding access to mental health care, reaching more Denver youth through therapy, youth-led social-emotional lessons, and out-of-school programs. By increasing engagement, equity in mental health outcomes will be advanced, while youth build resilience and reduce substance misuse.
Colorado African Cultural Center – Strengthening the mental health of Denver’s African and African American youth, ages 8-26, by providing affordable and accessible culturally tailored care, family resilience support, psychoeducation, and community and peer support.
Colorado Perinatal Mental Health Project – Supporting the Colorado Perinatal Mental Health Project to provide a community-based, bilingual perinatal mental health intervention for mothers and birthers. The program includes affinity spaces for Black and Latinx mothers, bridging the divide between mental health systems and community.
Denver Children’s Advocacy Center – Providing comprehensive mental health services to Denver residents. Programs include treatment and assessment for children and caregivers, mental health consultations, and community training to enhance access to culturally responsive care and resources.
Denver Family Institute – Expanding the Queer Youth Program, a strength-based advanced training program for professionals working with queer youth. The program will focus on increasing the number of queer-affirming mental health professionals to serve Denver’s queer youth and their families.
Family Star – Implementing a trauma-informed program that supports the mental health and wellbeing of children, caregivers, and staff through education, peer groups, consultations, and targeted interventions – focusing on early intervention, concern identification, tailored support, and referrals to help all thrive.
Florence Crittenton Services – Increasing access to mental health support, which is crucial to overcoming trauma and creating healthy relationships within family units by adding a new therapist and clinical interns to serve teen birthing parents and expand services to teen fathers, their children, and alumni.
FullCircle Program, Inc – Providing peer recovery support services for youth, young adults and their caregivers in this organization’s Denver program.
Fully Liberated Youth – Utilizing funding to continue prevention and intervention programs. The mental health services within these programs aim to foster agency and hope in young people who are gang- or system-involved, or at risk of involvement.
Griffith Centers for Children, Inc – Continuing to launch the Relinquishment Framework to support children, parents and caregivers transitioning to permanency after parental rights have been terminated. Services will reduce trauma, support attachment, improve mental health, and reduce placement instability.
Judi’s House/JAG Institute – Supporting families experiencing bereavement and prevent long-term negative outcomes by delivering comprehensive grief care, including assessments, therapy, and education developmentally tailored for children and adults.
La Cocina – Expanding Spanish language perinatal mental health services to include extended treatment options beyond 12-months postpartum, increasing this organization’s capacity to respond to growing community needs.
La Pinata del Aprendizaje – Continuing ongoing mental health education and support for team members, regular group wellness forums and workshops for parents and caregivers, and direct therapy for individuals identified with acute and time-sensitive mental health support needs.
NAMI Colorado – Providing services for youth in recovery, including Peer to Peer, In Our Own Voice, and Connections. These programs, focused on community connections and fewer re-hospitalizations, improve recovery and stabilization through evidence-based content that measures the impact of programs on well-being.
Project PAVE Inc. – Expanding programming, including providing school-based therapy and social-emotional learning facilitations for youth in partner schools across the Metro Denver area.
Queer Asterisk – Providing long-term counseling and therapeutic services to Denver youth regardless of their ability to pay, ensuring equity of access to ongoing care for Denver LGBTQIA teens and young adults.
Raise the Future – Equipping Denver youth that have experienced foster care, and the caring adults in their lives, with attachment-based communication tools that promote mental health and help youth heal from trauma, process emotions, build resilience, and form healthy, lasting relationships.
Re:Vision – Hosting youth mental health support groups once a month during regularly scheduled youth afterschool programming in partnership with Denver Children’s Advocacy Center.
Savio – Serving more Denver families and enhancing support for youth and caregivers, fostering healing and resilience through evidence-based approaches by expanding trauma-informed care. This organization will train clinicians in Trauma Systems Therapy, EMDR, and TF-CBT.
Scholars Unlimited – Continuing operation of the mental health team and supporting scholars in this organization’s after-school and summer programs. This team infuses recreation, art, and individual therapy based on youth and community voice.
Second Wind Fund, Inc. – Supporting Denver youth ages 19 and under who are at risk for suicide and facing one or more financial and social barriers to accessing treatment, matching them with providers in the organization’s network and covering the costs for therapy sessions.
Struggle of Love Foundation – Expanding this organization’s capacity to address mental health and substance misuse issues among youth ages 8-26 by providing culturally responsive programming in the community. In this work, it will address systemic barriers faced by youth and their families in far northeast Denver.
TGTHR – Expanding behavioral health programming to ensure equitable and culturally responsive clinical services and group support to improve young people’s mental health and reduce substance use through one-on-one and group counseling, peer support, and intensive training.
Upstream Education Inc. – Delivering social-emotional programming in schools to teach coping skills.
Young People In Recovery – Continuing trauma-informed group therapy and workshops as well as wellness programs for both Spanish-speaking caretakers and BIPOC youth. These programs focus on nurturing protective factors to prevent substance misuse, support mental health, and foster healthy, resilient communities.
About Caring for Denver Foundation
Caring for Denver Foundation was founded and funded by the people of Denver with overwhelming voter support to address Denver’s mental health and substance misuse needs by growing community-informed solutions, dismantling stigma, and turning the community’s desire to help into action. Guided by community input, the organization has funded more than $186 million in the areas of alternatives to jail, community-centered solutions, youth, and special initiatives since it began.