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News from Boulder, Colorado and Boulder Channel 1 News editors To advertise please call 303-447-8531
Boulder Attention Homes is our only Youth Shelter
Nov 11th
November is Homeless & Runaway Youth Awareness Month. Get Involved!
Did you know that at least 1,500 youth and young adults ages 12 to 25 are homeless in Colorado right now? A Point in Time Study in January 2012 found 165 unaccompanied youth homeless on just one night in Boulder County.
Attention Homes – a 47 year-old Boulder non-profit organization – is the only youth shelter in Boulder County. In 2012, the organization will serve more than 500 boys and girls in day and overnight shelter. November is Homeless and Runaway Youth Awareness Month.
On Thursday, November 15, Attention Homes will bring together 40 community and business leaders for the inaugural Sleep Out for Homeless Youth presented in partnership with First United Methodist Church of Boulder.
Participants will be spending the night sleeping outside on the lawn in downtown Boulder between Attention Homes’ office and the First United Methodist Church, near 15th and Spruce Street. They have pledged to each raise $1,000 for Attention Homes from friends, family and colleagues through their own online fundraising page. Sleep Out is expected to raise more than $40,000 to support Attention Homes’ homeless and runaway youth services.
Claire Clurman, Attention Homes
Phone: 303.447.1206 x125 cclurman@attentionhomes.org
Community Leaders Sleep Out To Raise Awareness for Homeless Youth
BOULDER, Colo. – On Thursday, November 15, Attention Homes will bring together 40 community and business
leaders for the inaugural Sleep Out for Homeless Youth presented in partnership with First United Methodist Church
of Boulder. Attention Homes – a 47 year-old Boulder non-profit organization – is the only youth shelter in Boulder
County. In 2012, the organization will serve more than 500 boys and girls in day and overnight shelter. November is
Homeless and Runaway Youth Awareness Month.
Participants will be spending the night sleeping outside on the lawn in downtown Boulder between Attention Homes’
office and the First United Methodist Church, near 15
th
and Spruce Street. They have pledged to each raise $1,000
for Attention Homes from friends, family and colleagues through their own online fundraising page. Sleep Out is
expected to raise more than $40,000 to support Attention Homes’ homeless and runaway youth services.
“The number of homeless youth in our community has increased by 166% over the past three years,” says Jim
Rianoshek, Executive Director of Attention Homes. “Sleep Out is an opportunity to raise awareness about and
funds for this critically important issue. By taking part in this event, these community and business leaders will
glimpse what life is like as a homeless youth by exposing themselves to weather and the uncertainties that come
from living on the streets. Our hope is that as they return the next morning to safe and warm homes, their jobs and
families, they will share a message of awareness and support for these local kids that need our attention and help.”
Sleep Out participants will arrive the evening of November 15
th
at First United Methodist Church and take part in a
simple meal donated by Pasta Jay’s before preparing to sleep out. Early the next morning, a light breakfast donated
by Illegal Pete’s and Moe’s Bagels will be served before departing back to work and home where participants are
encouraged to not shower or change in order to further heighten their connection to the experience of being
homeless. Award-winning photographer and multimedia/video producer Dana Romanoff will be recording the event.
Participants include:
Amanda Boyle, Marketing Team Lead, Google
Rev. Pat Bruns, Senior Pastor, First United Methodist Church of Boulder
Mary Estill Buchanan, Former Secretary of State of Colorado
Andrew Clurman, Chief Operating Officer, Active Interest Media
Larry Dennis, Founder, Dennis Printing Service and President of the Board, Attention Homes
Tina Di Scipio, Broker Associate, Prudential Real Estate of the Rockies
Steve Disbrow, Golf & Baseball Coach, PE Teacher, Boulder High School
Neil Di Muccio, Shift Supervisor, Starbucks
Jon Dorn, Senior VP, Outdoor Group, Active Interest Media, Editor-in-Chief Backpacker Magazine
Clay Evans, Contributor, Daily Camera
Fairview The Royal Banner Newspaper
Jeff Foltz, Attorney, Hensley and Kennedy PCAttention Homes I 3080 Broadway, Suite C I Boulder, CO I 80304 I P:303.447.1206 I F:303.447.0623 I www.attentionh omes.org
Deb Gardner, Boulder County Commissioner
Ann Goldman, Co-Founder, Front Range Source
Katie Green, Runaway and Homeless Youth Program Manager, Attention Homes
Jim Hayes, Senior Vice President, Van Gilder Insurance
Kevin Kelley, Senior Vice President, Wells Fargo Advisors
Rusty McCoy, Broker, RE/Max of Boulder
Jim McMaster, Software Engineer, Google
Chris Nelson, Executive Program Manager, Attention Homes
Rachel Overton, Residential Program Supervisor, Attention Homes
Jim Rianoshek, Executive Director, Attention Homes
Tara Sheahan, Co-Founder, Conscious Global Leadership
John Sheldon, Community Leader
Mark Spiegel, Co-Owner and Project Manager, Bowes Spiegel Architects
Paul Smith, Partner, Bryan Cave, LLP
Don Stensrud, Principal, Fairview High School
John Tayer, President, Public Affairs Center, LLC
Will Toor, Boulder County Commissioner
Ryan Van Duzer, TV Host, Adventurer, Filmmaker
A few Sleep Out spots are still available. To learn more about how you can participate go to
www.attentionhomes.org for information on how to sign up.
About Attention Homes:
Since 1966 Attention Homes has provided abused, neglected, homeless, runaway and at-risk youth comprehensive
shelter care and structured, community-based living while teaching them guiding life principles for a successful and
self-sufficient future. Attention Homes operates the only shelter for youth in Boulder County.
CU-Boulder to honor vets through Veterans Week events Nov. 9-17
Nov 9th
The University of Colorado Boulder will honor the nation’s veterans, including CU-Boulder’s own faculty, staff and student veterans, through Veterans Week, beginning with a Nov. 9 Veterans Day ceremony at 11 a.m. in the University Memorial Center’s Glenn Miller Ballroom.
The free, public ceremony will feature guest speaker Michael Dakduk, executive director of the national organization Student Veterans of America. A reception will follow in the UMC Veterans Lounge.
In the Marine Corps, Dakduk was deployed to Iraq in 2005 and to Afghanistan in 2007, where he earned military decorations for distinguished service in combat. He left active duty in 2008 and completed his bachelor’s degree at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, where he organized student veterans on campus as a chapter of Student Veterans of America.
“We take this time to acknowledge and express gratitude for the sacrifices of those still serving and those who have served so gallantly and selflessly in our armed forces,” said CU-Boulder Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano. “This weekend, we can each take a moment to reflect on how much we owe the silent heroes in our midst and reach out and thank a vet for this outstanding service. The University of Colorado Boulder joins the nation on this one day of the year our country has set aside to honor our veterans and acknowledge the legacy of their steadfast defense of our American ideals, principles and liberties.”
Also on Nov. 9, CU-Boulder will host Military Student Day to assist military service members interested in transitioning from military service to life as a college student.
CU-Boulder is home to about 650 student veterans and 250 faculty and staff vets, according to Michael Roberts, program manager of CU-Boulder’s Veteran Services office on campus.
“The Office of Veteran Services here at CU-Boulder continues to build a robust program supporting our veterans transitioning from the military to college and ultimately to the work force,” Roberts said. “We have a group of committed staff and faculty leaders who are eager to support our student veterans.”
Student veterans can visit the Student Veterans Center in the Center for Community building, room S482. The center serves as a one-stop shop to support student veterans.
One of the most sought-after services is help with the GI Bill, Roberts said.
“Most veterans are taking advantage of this great opportunity they earned while serving our nation,” he said. “The Post 9/11 GI Bill covers all in-state tuition and fees as well as providing a monthly living allowance. In Boulder, it is quite substantial — $1,500 per month while they are in school.”
The CU-Boulder Law School also recently opened the Veteran’s Legal Clinic to help unite the Colorado legal community and students at CU as they work together to develop a support system for veterans across the state.
Mark Fogg, president of the Colorado Bar Association and a Colorado Law alumnus, recognized the need for pro bono legal services in the veteran’s community in Colorado, said Andy Hartman, an adjunct professor and director of the experiential learning program at Colorado Law.
“The bar wanted to have veteran’s clinics in different cities throughout Colorado including Denver, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs, Pueblo and Grand Junction, and they wanted a program at CU-Boulder and the University of Denver to serve their student veterans and their families,” Hartman said.
Attorneys from the Colorado Bar Association work with student volunteers from Colorado Law to meet with veterans and address some of their legal questions. Neither party is financially compensated for their work, although it affords practicing attorneys and students the opportunity to fulfill their public service pledge to provide legal services that benefit the community.
Kevin Brown, a third-year law student at CU-Boulder and a former attack pilot for the Marines, has a vivid memory of the Veterans Legal Clinic’s first client.
“The very first person that walked into the clinic last November on Veterans Day was a homeless veteran that needed many different kinds of help,” said Brown. “To see a veteran who was homeless and in need and to watch the Colorado Bar Association and the volunteer attorneys come together and work to provide assistance and help to him was inspiring.”
Other campus observances for Veterans Day include:
Nov. 9, at 6 p.m., in Old Main Chapel
The CU-Boulder Veteran Services office will have a public viewing of the documentary “Veterans Day 11.11.11.” The feature-length documentary examines what it means to be a veteran in America through the stories of several men and women vets who served during times of peace and war.
Pat Woodard, the documentary’s co-executive producer and writer; Richard Deki, one of the veterans featured in the documentary; and Suzanne Popovich Chandler, a photographer whose work is featured in the documentary, will be present to interact with the audience during and after the film.
Nov. 14, 6-9 p.m., Old Main Chapel
A public showing of the documentary “The Welcome,” an award-winning film that offers a “fiercely intimate view of life after war: the fear, anger and isolation of post-traumatic stress that affects vets and family members alike.”
Nov. 17, 9 a.m., UMC Glenn Miller Ballroom
The annual veterans pre-game party honors CU’s military families as well as members of the military across the Front Range community. For more information contact the Veteran Services office at 303-492-7322.
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Boulder County quickly utilizing housing assistance vouchers for veterans
Nov 9th
Housing assistance staff hopeful success will lead to additional voucher awards
Boulder County, Colo. – After only four months, Boulder County has utilized nearly 70 percent of the federal vouchers it received earlier this year to provide rental assistance to homeless military veterans.
Earlier this year the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced an award of $229,620 to help coordinate housing and other crucial supports for chronically homeless veterans in Boulder County. The assistance is in the form of 25 Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) vouchers which since July have been administered by the Boulder County Department of Housing and Human Services (BCDHHS) in partnership with the VA. As of Veterans Day 2012, 17 of the vouchers have been issued to homeless veterans. Of these, 11 veterans have been fully housed.
“Knowing how many homeless veterans we have here in Boulder County, I’m not surprised by how quickly these vouchers are being utilized,” said Willa Williford, director of BCDHHS’ Housing Division. “But it’s a great feeling to know we’re opening doors for people who really need help.” As of January, the homeless population count was nearly 1,800 individuals in Boulder County. About 10 percent of the county’s homeless are veterans.
Housing Assistance Program Manager Amanda Guthrie noted that the Department of Veterans Affairs has indicated Boulder County’s work with the VASH vouchers thus far has been excellent. “According to their feedback, we’re quite successful in part because we’re philosophically well-aligned to serve this population, making us strong candidates for additional funding in the future,” she said.
BCDHHS is able to link clients to a wide range of services, including food and financial assistance, health coverage, and housing counseling, among others. In addition to rental assistance, the agency has been working closely with the VA to help stabilize the formerly-homeless veterans and support them on a path to self-sufficiency.
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