Posts tagged Human Services
City of boulder monitors creek levels for flooding: Boulder news briefs
Jul 11th
City of Boulder monitors creek levels
City crews were out today along the Boulder creek path shutting down underpass section because of flooding. Water and run off are normal for this time of the year but city officials are con cerned about possible cloud bursts in Boulder canyon.
City of Boulder News Briefs
Gilbert White Memorial Flood Level Marker dedication event to be held July 17
A Gilbert White Memorial Flood Level Marker dedication event will be held at 7 p.m. on Sunday, July 17, in Central Park, just east of the Broadway Bridge on the north side of Boulder Creek.
The Gilbert White Memorial Flood Level Marker is an 18-foot tall LED-illuminated structure that shows the creek’s 50-year, 100-year, 500-year and Big Thompson historic flood levels. Gilbert White (1911-2006) is known as the “Father of Floodplain Management.” He was Gustafson Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Geography at the University of Colorado, where he founded the Natural Hazards Center, which still functions within the CU Institute of Behavioral Science. He was widely recognized as a leader in the world environmental movement, and received numerous international awards and honorary degrees.
The structure was planned, designed, and constructed by a committee of Gilbert’s colleagues, students, friends and family, who also helped raise funds for the marker with private contributions and fundraising events. The marker will be donated to the city and maintained by the Parks and Recreation Department.
For more information on Gilbert White and the Gilbert White Memorial, visit: www.colorado.edu/hazards/gfw
For more information, call Paul Bousquet, Parks and Recreation, at 303-413-7239.
Grass Roots Ultimate Benefit tournament proceeds to assist Boulder’s Youth Services Initiative program
The City of Boulder Parks and Recreation Department’s Youth Services Initiative program (YSI) has been selected as the beneficiary of the Grass Roots Ultimate Benefit (GRUB) fundraising tournament. The ultimate disc tournament will be held July 16 and July 17 at Pleasant View Fields, 3805 47th St. in Boulder. Proceeds from the event will support YSI programs by providing funding for sports equipment, activity fees, summer camp programming and scholarships for classes within Boulder’s recreation centers.
Ultimate is a non-contact sport played with a flying disc and combines elements of soccer, basketball, and American football. More than 650 athletes are expected to participate in the 20th annual GRUB tournament.
The mission of Youth Services Initiative (YSI) is to provide youth from low income housing the opportunities and resources necessary to make positive recreational, educational and lifestyle choices.
For more information, call Paul Bousquet, Parks and Recreation, at 303-413-7239.
Adults mentors needed to work with youth
Applications are currently available for the Fabulous Adult Assistance Board (FAAB). FAAB members work with the City of Boulder’s Youth Opportunities Advisory Board (YOAB). YOAB members are high school students who advise City Council and local agencies on youth-related issues, make recommendations for funding youth agencies and plan events for youth.
FAAB members must be available the first Friday of each month from September through May, from noon to 2 p.m., and for occasional other meetings.
YOAB is part of the Youth Opportunities Program in the city’s Department of Housing and Human Services. The deadline for applications is Tuesday, July 26, 2011. For more information or an application contact Alice Swett at 303-441-4349 orswetta@bouldercolorado.gov.
Boulder County awarded Family Unification Program vouchers HUD program helps stabilize families and move them toward self-sufficiency
Jun 22nd
Boulder County, Colo. – In recognition of its effective, integrated approach to human services delivery, where children and families are offered a full continuum of early and preventative support services that increase their safety and their chances to be self-sufficient, the Boulder County Department of Housing and Human Services was recently awarded 50 Family Unification Program Housing Choice Vouchers by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Only 150 vouchers were awarded in Colorado and less than 2,000 nationwide.
By providing access to stable housing and supportive services, the Family Unification Program enables Boulder County to reunite children in foster care with their parents or to prevent children from entering the foster care system. Research consistently shows that children who are able to safely stay with their families have much better long-term outcomes than children who are removed from their homes.
FUP vouchers will be available for families whose inadequate housing is the primary factor in the separation or near separation from their children. Families and youths are permitted to rent housing from private landlords and generally pay 30 percent of their monthly income toward rent and utilities. County staff will refer eligible clients to the voucher program.
“We feel strongly that a lack of affordable housing is not a valid reason to separate children from their families,” said Frank Alexander, Director of the county’s Department of Housing and Human Services. “With these vouchers, we can ensure that families have a safe and affordable place to live and thereby remove one obstacle from parents who want to take care of their children but do not have the financial resources to do so. Providing short-term supportive services to at-risk families on the front end can make the difference for kids and families over the long term.”
According to the National Center for Housing and Child Welfare, it costs the federal government approximately $56,892 annually per family to place children into foster care. Yet the cost to provide housing and supportive services to one family averages less than $14,000 annually. Through this investment in FUP to reunify families who are separated due to a lack of affordable housing options, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, known as HUD, will reunite nearly 3,500 children with their parents, thus saving $74 million in annual foster care expenditures.
Cost savings are also considerable for young people aging out of foster care. The average annual cost of a FUP voucher for young adults is $5,600 – a 10th of the estimated costs associated with undesirable outcomes such as homelessness, incarceration, and residential treatment.
“Boulder County is proud to be leading the way in providing a highly integrated, locally delivered housing and human services system and appreciates HUD’s recognition of this innovative approach to service delivery,” Alexander said.
Boulder County spearheading online application for health, food, financial assistance
Jun 20th
Boulder County, Colo. – The Boulder County Department of Housing and Human Services is leading the Colorado PEAK Outreach Initiative, a statewide effort to ensure the success of a new online benefits application.
The application, www.Colorado.gov/PEAK, launched in early June to help facilitate access to public medical, food and cash assistance programs for eligible children, adults and families across Colorado.
Boulder County is leading the initiative’s statewide implementation through unprecedented collaboration with state agencies, community-based organizations and leadership in each of Colorado’s 64 counties.
“The initiative aims to ensure that every eligible individual, child and family in Colorado is screened for and enrolled in the health, food and financial self-sufficiency benefits that help them thrive,” project director Dawn Joyce said.
Colorado has joined with 26 other states across the U.S. that offer online benefit applications as a targeted effort to meet the increasing demand for public assistance benefits and to remove barriers preventing people from receiving assistance.
“After talking with several other states with online applications like Colorado PEAK, we learned that a targeted, effective outreach effort was critical to the success of web-based benefit application,” said Housing and Human Services Director Frank Alexander.
Boulder County secured numerous foundation grants to fund the three-person PEAK Outreach Initiative team, which has built coalitions across the state, developed outreach and training materials, and conducted focus groups with more than 200 individuals to ensure that the PEAK online application is user-friendly in both English and Spanish.
Organizations in Boulder County currently offering assistance with PEAK are: Emergency Family Assistance Association, Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence, the Mental Health Center of Boulder and Broomfield Counties, Sister Carmen Community Center, Our Center, The Parenting Place, Community Food Share, Project Hope, Longmont Senior Services and City of Longmont Aging Services.
For more information about PEAK and training opportunities, please Jacqueline Sullivan at 303-918-5427 or PEAKOutreach@bouldercounty.org.
-Bo
