MARIA DROSTE SERVICES OF COLORADO

Target demographics: CHILDREN FIRST targets at-risk children in grades K through 5 from low-income, working-poor families in the Denver metro area. The Options program at MDS Counseling Center provides professional counseling services for adults, children and families in need, regardless of their ability to pay.

Direct beneficiaries per year: Last year, the Options program provided low fee counseling to 541 individuals and families. The CHILDREN FIRST program provided counseling, mentoring and support for over 700 at-risk children at local elementary schools.

Programs: The CHILDREN FIRST program provides counseling, mentoring and support for at-risk children and families at 21 local elementary schools. We help children with serious emotional and situational problems, so that they can develop new skills, improve academically and socially, and succeed in school. CHILDREN FIRST targets at-risk children in grades K through 5 from low-income, working-poor families in the Denver metro area. Last year the program served 770 children and families in need. Most of the participating schools are located in economically-disadvantaged neighborhoods, with many students eligible for free or reduced-price lunches. One of the schools is an international refugee magnet school within the Denver Public Schools system. Another is a magnet school for hearing-impaired children. Community Need: Children who are struggling academically and socially often become the youth at risk for drug abuse, suicide, violence or dropping out of school. Still, many families cannot access the help they seek. MDS Counseling Center responds by assisting children and families with serious problems at an early stage, before problems escalate. How Children Benefit: Children who are hurting, in trouble, or struggling in school or at home may be referred to CHILDREN FIRST by their teachers, parents or school principals. Our counselors provide individual counseling and teach skills to improve conflict-resolution and and problem-solving abilities. In addition, we work with parents to address serious family problems and help them create strategies to support their child's development. Through these activities, children receive the personalized attention, mentoring and support needed to facilitate positive change. Ultimately children benefit by improving academic performance--a primary indicator for successfully completing high school in the future. With your help, MDS Counseling Center will continue to make a significant difference in the lives of these amazing, hope-filled boys and girls. We are all grateful for your support. The Options program at MDS Counseling Center provides professional counseling services for adults, children and families in need, regardless of their ability to pay. Our program offers counseling for those who are affected by poverty, depression, illness, emotional trauma, and other serious problems that impact their ability to work and function effectively. We receive hundreds of requests for counseling every month. Most of those who seek our help are deeply worried and hurting, and many feel as though they don't matter to anyone. We offer hope, healing and support for people in their efforts to resolve problems, develop new skills, achieve self-sufficiency, sustain employment, and strengthen interpersonal and family relationships. Our entire community benefits as a result. People Served: The Options program serves individuals and families who are considered "working poor". They lack health insurance and/or cannot access the community mental health centers. They have little or no money to cover even basic living expenses. Approximately 60% of Options program clients have annual incomes under $20,000. To ensure access to services, our fees slide as low as $5 per session—or 50¢ when needed. This is substantially lower than the sliding-scale fees offered by other counseling centers. Referrals to MDS Counseling Center come from over 240 diverse sources, including Denver Health Medical Center and all five Metro area community mental health centers. We also receive referrals from organizations such as the Family Resource Centers, the Rape Assistance and Awareness Program, the WINGS Foundation, Denver Safehouse, Gateway Battered Women’s Services, Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, and many Denver-area churches and schools. Use of Volunteers: All MDS Counseling Center programs are uniquely collaborative, volunteer-based and cost-effective. In fact, over two-thirds of program costs are contributed in kind by volunteer counselors. Key partners include six Colorado universities. Community Need: Most of the people who seek our help are struggling to overcome a job layoff, the loss of a family wage earner due to death or divorce, a substance abuse problem, or a serious mental illness--some of the root causes of poverty and homelessness in our community. Sometimes their situtaions have become so overwhelming they feel as though they can no longer parent or perform daily job functions. They frequently lack family or social support networks. By the time they contact us, they often have been turned away by multiple other agencies. Requests for our counseling services have been especially urgent this year, as women and men struggle with extended periods of unemployment and mounting debts. Some of the families have been uprooted by foreclosures, while other families have become increasingly unstable. MDS Counseling Center responds by assisting those who have nowhere else to turn. Last year the Options program alone provided 5,936 hours of counseling to 541 low-income, uninsured adults, children and families in need.