Urban Peak gives light, hope to “invisible” teens on the street
Like many of her nonprofit peers, Christina Carlson feels the small losses as much, if not more, than the big victories.
Urban Peak, the Denver-based organization of which Carlson is CEO, is the last nonprofit dedicated to homeless teens in a city seeing an increasing number of them. That makes her job all the more vital.
“Last night, I think we turned away at least two kids who were going to have to sleep on the street, and that’s horrendous for us and for everybody else,” said Carlson, who became CEO about three months ago.
From its drop-in center at 21st and Stout streets to its 40-bed shelter on South Acoma Street, Urban Peak works daily to serve at-risk teenagers and young adults ages 15-24 with safe spaces and support. The drop-in center offers hot showers, laundry services and meals, and the shelter can house up to 50 on cold or wet nights.
Additionally, Urban Peak runs outreach programs that scour the streets of Denver and Colorado Springs for vulnerable adolescents, and it owns 110 units in three buildings in Denver that provide permanent and transitional housing for young residents who meet certain work, school and discounted rent-paying requirements.
The housing, in particular, plays an outsized role, given Denver’s chronic lack of affordable housing and rapid gentrification amid a years-long population and construction boom.
“It’s expensive to live here, even for full-employed people,” said Carlson, who holds a master’s degree in social work and formerly served as chief advancement officer for the Colorado Symphony. “It’s a different ballgame for kids who are still in school, or coming out of the foster care system, or who are dealing with mental health or substance abuse issues. There are so many complicating factors. But with how expensive it is to live here lately, it’s made it that much harder.”
Another complication is “the invisibility factor,” as Carlson calls it. People tend to look away from signs of homelessness because they feel powerless.
“I have the best job in the world, but one thing that’s been really powerful for me is seeing that,” she said. “We, as a society, don’t know what to do about it.”
The National Alliance to End Homelessness estimates that each year about 550,000 unaccompanied youths and young adults age 24 or younger experience an episode of homelessness longer than one week, according to Urban Peak, and approximately 380,000 of those youths are younger than 18.
In Colorado, the number of homeless students in the public school system more than doubled over the past decade, from 11,954 in the 2006-07 school year to 24,685 in the 2014-15 school year, the nonprofit reported.
As alarming as these numbers are, “they grossly underrepresent the size of this population,” Urban Peak said, since unaccompanied youths are difficult to count — given that they often don’t trust adults or systems of services due to abuse, trauma and unhealthy relationships.
That’s why Carlson sees Urban Peak — a recipient of The Denver Post Season to Share funds — as critical to the fabric of the community.
“We are serving a population that is so at-risk and so in need of services, and it’s growing all the time,” she said. “Without a lot of intervention and preventative services, homeless youth become homeless adults. We can be the solution to that.”
Encouragingly, 88 percent of the youths helped by Urban Peak leave its supportive housing to land in a safe and stable environment, which Carlson called “stunning.” She credits the tailored approach Urban Peak provides, which treats teens as inherently different from adults.
“We want to be known in this world, and that’s just as true for youth as anyone else,” she said. “For us, that means treating young people with a lot of respect and kindness, and making them feel like they’re a part of society. We’re building them toward self-sufficiency. Sometimes, it’s as simple as taking a minute to say good morning to someone on the street who might look like they’re homeless. It’s just another way for people to feel seen.”