The Village

The Village launched in fall 2021 after years of research and extensive community engagement including community surveys and conversations with students and families. Communities identified food access, housing, workforce readiness and mental health supports as the greatest areas of need for The Village. To meet these needs, The Village staffs a social worker, workforce coordinator and two community specialists, one focused on basic needs provision and the other on outreach to the six Pathways school communities, and over a dozen community partnerships.

“One of the personalized and engaging supports that The Village offers year-round is workforce support. The workforce coordinator works with each individual to determine what their professional goals are, and then helps them navigate a path to reach them. When there is funding available to compensate students for their time and effort, one of the most valuable services that our coordinator provides is a 4-week workforce readiness series that covers everything from career exploration to resume design to interview preparation. While we understand that some young people may be in a position to take these classes without compensation, pathways students are often relied on in their families as financial contributors, or even sole providers for their independent households, making it an insurmountable barrier for many to attend an unpaid program outside of the school day. We were fortunate to receive grant funding in the second half of this school year, so to finish the year strong The Village hosted an incredibly successful workforce series that saw 16 students complete the program with a full toolbelt of workforce skills, as well as a well earned $250 stipend. Our workforce coordinator, Tamir Campbell, was thrilled to see students complete the program successfully, and was also incredibly happy to know that $4,000.00 were distributed to hard working students that would go on to use their skills in a host of professional fields. We are so proud of the workforce supports we provide to students and former students here at The Village!”

“The Village is grateful to have a continued partnership with Denver Human Services to help provide wraparound supports for all students and families. One of the supports that is regularly utilized is the vital document voucher program, which allows individuals to get an ID or birth certificate, free of cost. Recently, a student came to The Village looking for support in getting a replacement birth certificate, and because of the DHS voucher we were able to provide, paired with a Denver Vital Records office conveniently located within walking distance of The Village, he was able to leave that same day with his newly printed birth certificate in hand. The Village is lucky to have dedicated staff members that always go the extra mile for participants, and on this day it was our social worker, Etamar Prizament, who partnered with the student to get this task accomplished in a fast and effective way!”