At-Risk Teen Moms Receive Assistance from Broomfield Community Foundation

Hope House of Colorado, a local non-profit organization designed to help at-risk teen moms work toward economic and personal self-sufficiency, received a $1,500 award from The Broomfield Community Foundation.

 

“Hope House is important because it changes the lives of these girls for years to come, and it meets an important need in Broomfield,” says Larry Beck, chairman of the committee that awarded Hope House through the foundation's Partners Fund.

 

Teen moms tend to be an overlooked group: while there are many services for pregnant teens, there are few resources for them once they have their child and begin to parent, leaving them disadvantaged and at an increased risk for abusing or neglecting their child.

 

The facts are sobering.  Nearly 70% of teen moms live at 150% below the federal poverty line.  Less than half of them will earn a high school diploma and less than 1% will ever graduate from college.  Hope House, a nonprofit organization in operation since 2003, works to fill this significant gap in the community by offering a variety of free services, including Residential, GED and Mentoring Programs.

 

“This grant from the Broomfield Community Foundation will help local teen moms take the first step toward self-sufficiency,” says Lisa Schlarbaum, Director of Development and longtime Broomfield resident. “For example, Danielle, who is one of our Broomfield teen moms and a 2010 graduate, won the Denver Mayor’s Youth Award that year.  Now she is serving as a youth liaison to a stakeholder group convened by the health department to brainstorm deterrents to illegal, underage tobacco sales.  She has come full circle and is now giving back to the community!”

 

Hope House and The Broomfield Community Foundation proved to be an excellent partnership because both organizations recognize the important role youth play in the community.   

 

“The youth are our future and everyone, including teenage moms, deserves the chance to become a responsible citizen,” says Susan Thode, a retired school teacher and Secretary of the Broomfield Community Foundation's Board of Directors.

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About Hope House of Colorado:  Hope House of Colorado is metro-Denver's only resource providing teen moms residential, mentoring and GED services, equipping them for long-term independence. Additional empowering services include parenting and life skills classes, healthy relationship classes, certified counseling, and social activities designed to promote community among the teen moms. Hope House relies on numerous volunteers and local business partnerships to accomplish its mission. Hopehouseofcolorado.org

 

About The Broomfield Community Foundation: The Broomfield Community Foundation was established in 1993 to create an ongoing source of funds for local charitable organizations.  It is a vehicle for community philanthropy that enables individuals of both modest and substantial means to help “build a community with heart.”  For more information, please contact the Broomfield Community Foundation at 303-469-7208 or visit the web site at www.broomfieldfoundation.org.

 

 

Contact: Kelly Tryba, Hope House of Colorado

720-629-3857  -- Kelly@hopehouseofcolorado.org

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