Funds will allow Warren Village to dramatically increase onsite mental health services
Warren Village, a Denver-based organization focused on helping low-income, single-parent families make the journey from poverty to self-sufficiency, received a $300,000 grant from the Caring for Denver Foundation to advance its Wellness Initiative for resident families over the next two years.
Warren Village’s Two-Generation (2Gen) approach focuses on creating opportunities for, and addressing the needs of, vulnerable parents and their children. An important aspect of this is the Wellness Initiative, classes and supportive modalities that address four core areas of self-sufficiency, including psychological, physical, social and financial well-being.
The Caring for Denver grant enables Warren Village to hire one-and-a-half on-site mental health clinicians to provide services to residents 26 and under, advancing the Wellness Initiative. Of the 230 people currently living at Warren Village, more than 70 percent are under the age of 26. Warren Village also will use the funds to enhance existing mental health support and skills, such as offering life skills classes to youth heads of household and support for the Kids’ Club afterschool enrichment and summer camp programs. This funding builds on the foundation established though partnerships with the Mental Health Center of Denver and The Tennyson Center for Children, and will intensify our efforts in the mental health arena.
“Researchers have long agreed there is an established relationship between poverty and poor health outcomes, as well as higher rates of mental health complications for children,” said Ethan Hemming, CEO & president of Warren Village. “The Caring for Denver funds allow us to provide free onsite services to our residents, dramatically increasing their access to mental healthcare, and thereby significantly improving the family’s ability to reach their full potential.”
“Caring for Denver was created by Denver for Denver to address Denver’s mental health and substance misuse needs by growing community-informed solutions,” said Lorez Meinhold, executive director of Caring for Denver. “We are grateful to partner with Warren Village in this meaningful work to support parents and their children. This program seeks to support and strengthen connections between caregivers and their children which is one of the most powerful known predictors of lifelong mental health.”
“Warren Village’s Two-Generation Approach acknowledges the important role mental health plays in breaking the cycle of poverty for low-income, single-parent families,” said Colorado Rep. Leslie Herod, who championed the Caring4Denver ballot initiative and now serves as the Caring for Denver Foundation board chair. “As recipients of the $300,000 grant, the organization can expand their efforts to do exactly the type of work intended through the Caring4Denver ballot initiative.”