Youth and Family Services
Youth Services
Early Childhood Education
Denver Housing Authority offers access to quality Early Childhood Education in many of its housing developments. DHA partners with organizations such as Catholic Charities to provide Head Start and Metropolitan State College of Denver for Denver’s Family Literacy Program on-site for neighborhood children.
- Head Start prepares children for kindergarten by enhancing their social and cognitive development through educational, health, nutritional, social, and other services.
- Head start is available at Quigg Newton, Sun Valley, Mariposa, and Westwood.
- Family Literacy Program emphasizes learning within a family context, enhances the relationships between parents and children, and strengthens parents’ roles as supporters of their children’s education. This program offers four comprehensive home- and school-based literacy programs:
- Family Literacy Program is available at Quigg Newton and Mariposa.
Catholic Charities: DHA has partnered with Catholic Charites at our Quigg Newton housing development to provide early childhood education for children ages 6 weeks to 5 years. For more program info contact Maricela Lopez at 720.799.9469 or email: mlopez@ccdenver.org.
Denver Housing Authority partners with community based agencies to provide access to after school and summer programming for at-risk youth.
Colorado I Have a Dream Foundations: DHA has partnered with the Colorado I Have a Dream Foundation (CIHADF) to provide youth and family programming in Denver’s Westwood community. CIHADF provides individualized tutoring and group programming focused on developing social and emotional skills, financial literacy, career readiness, and health and wellness support for the entire family. For more program information, contact Fernando Branch at fbranch@cihadf.org.
Lifelong, Inc.: provides mental health, behavioral, assessment, evaluation, substance treatment, domestic violence treatment, and academic support to clients with disabilities and/or those who learn best outside of traditional learning and treatment environments. For more program information, contact Vanessa Pagan at 303.573.0839 or email: Vanessa@Lifelonginc.com.
Mile High 360: serves teens and young adults to ensure that socioeconomic status does not define a child’s future. Mile High 360 follows students from 6th grade through middle school, high school, college prep, and post-secondary education to provide ongoing academic support, health and wellness programming, and life skills resources and opportunities. For more program information, contact Eric Eiteljorg at 720.323.3608.
The Youth Employment Academy (YEA) at DHA provides mentoring, education classes, employment and training services which assist in addressing the educational, job readiness and career exploration goals to low income youth between the ages of 16 to 21. Support is available for youth with special learning needs.
For more information about the Youth Employment Academy, call 720.956.3833, click the Youth Employment Academy tab and/or select the Service Coordinator tab to contact the staff at the site you are interested in.
Service Coordinators
DHA’s Service Coordinators are able to assist you with the following and much more:
- Computer Classes
- Homeownership Classes
- Dental Services
- Healthcare
- GED
- College Applications
- Tutoring
- Credit Management
- Budgeting Assistance
- ESL Classes
- Opening a Bank Account
- and much more!
Barney Ford |
Mountain View |
South Lowell |
Thomas Connole |
Casa Loma |
Mulroy |
Sun Valley |
Walsh Manor /Annex |
Columbine Homes |
North Lincoln |
Syracuse |
Westridge / |
Hirschfield
|
Platte Valley/ |
Tapiz |
Westwood /Dispersed South |
Mariposa 720.956.3850 |
Quigg Newton |
Thomas Bean |
Vida at Sloan’s Lake 720.956.3858 |
Public Service
DHA Resident Community Service Program
Section 512 of the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 requires that all non-exempt adult public housing residents must perform community service activities or participate in an economic self-sufficiency program to remain eligible for public housing assistance.
All non-exempt adult residents must do one of the following:
- Contribute eight (8) hours per month of community service (not including political activity)
- Participate in an economic self-sufficiency program for eight (8) hours per month
- Perform a combination of both for eight (8) hours per month
Volunteering must be done at a non-profit organization. These include, but are not limited to:
- Schools, head start programs, and daycare centers
- Churches
- Hospitals
- Thrift stores
- Boys & Girls Clubs
.
Residents over the age of 18 who meet one of the following are exempt from DHA’s community service requirement:
- 62 years of age or older
- Blind or disabled
- Primary caretaker of a blind or disabled individual
- Engaged in work activities (including employment, work experience programs, on-the-job training, job search, job readiness assistance, vocational/trade training, job skills training)
- Exempt from work activity or under any other state welfare program
- Resident household members of a family receiving assistance, benefits, or services under a state program
Temporary Exemptions
- Pregnancy–exempt up to six months after birth
- Death of an immediate family member
- Under the care of a physician
For more information about the Community Service program or to ask a question, please call 720-956-3811
Aging in Place
Referrals, resources, and activities are provided by DHA’s Service Coordinators to DHA’s senior and disabled residents of designated sites. Referrals and resources include, but are not limited to:
- Medicare and Medicaid
- Arthritis Foundation
- Avoiding Identity Theft
- Fraud Seminars
- Dental Clinics
- Safety Resources
- Leadership Training
- Food Commodities
- Free Meals
- Clothing Banks
- Supportive Services
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, at 16.5%, the senior population is one of the most rapidly growing demographics in the country. With the increasing aging population, there is a greater need for senior housing.
Housing services may differ, and picking the best option can be time-consuming and overwhelming for aging adults and their families. For this reason, here are some resources to help seniors and their loved ones explore the different facilities available to them, the costs involved, and payment options. You can find these resources here: https://www.senioradvice.com/senior-apartments.
Emergency Housing Guide for Seniors
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