Elevated Denver

This article illustrates the importance of creating space to see someone else's life and how doing so can open up compassion.

In the past, Mayor Coffman blamed homelessness on drugs and addiction. "Now that he has stayed in his own shelter and spoken with countless shelter guests, Coffman has shifted his thinking on homelessness and no longer believes it’s solely an addiction or mental health issue. He now sees economic factors as a major cause of homelessness."

Aurora’s mayor sleeps in the city’s homeless shelter. It ‘shifted’ his view For five months, Mike Coffman has spent Friday nights at the Aurora Regional Navigation Center.

We are pleased to announce that we were selected to present at the National Lived Experience Leadership Conference in September, held in partnership by Destination: Home and the National Coalition for the Homeless! Jamie Morgan (Collaboratory and Leadership Facilitator), Myra Nagy (Lived Expert Leadership Liaison), and Johnna Fandel Flood (CEO and Co-Founder) will speak about "Supporting Lived Experience Leadership: A Collaborative Approach to Power and Practice."

We're happy that putting people with lived experience at the center of homelessness prevention is happening more regularly, and that the Elevated Denver team is being recognized as experts in this area. We'll share more after the conference!

We've moved! We’re now in a cool new space at the Historic Evans School, 1115 Acoma Street, right near the Denver Art Museum.

We invite you to a casual open house on Thursday, July 30, between 3:30 and 6:00 p.m. Pop by, grab yourself a drink and snack, and check out the space—no need to RSVP! Look for us outside at the Schoolyard Beer Garden.

More insight from our Community Landscape...this is why we focus on preventing homelessness and encourage anyone who may be on the brink of losing their home to visit our Community Resource Connection Hub in the Westwood Community Center! There, people can get one-on-one support to connect with trusted resources.

Our Community Landscape identifies the gaps and strengths of Denver's homelessness response system, as conveyed by in-depth interviews and community listening sessions with nearly 40 lived experts - people who have been homeless and have used the system. We heard these prompters of homelessness over and over again in this research.

Do these surprise you? Are there others you would add to the list?

Still thinking about Voices & Visions ✨

What a joy it was to honor the amazing Myra Nagy with our first annual Lived Expert Leadership Award. Myra has infused her lived expertise and wisdom into every aspect of Elevated Denver. She has been a part of the work from the beginning, giving shape to the storytelling and the solutions. We are beyond lucky to have Myra on the team.

Johnna Fandel Flood was recently featured on the Conscious InSights podcast! In this episode, Designing Upstream — Rethinking Homelessness Through Lived Wisdom, Renelle Everett Darr invites Johnna into a conversation that moves beyond homelessness and into the deeper question of how systems truly change.

Check it out here or on Spotify!

Conscious InSights: E18 Designing Upstream — Rethinking Homelessness Through Lived Wisdom When we try to solve complex challenges at the surface, we often miss what’s actually driving them. In this episode of Conscious InSights, Renelle Everett Darr invites Johnna Flood into a conversation that moves beyond homelessness and into the deeper question of how systems truly change. Together...

Even though Mother Nature threw us a curveball today, it’ll be warm and sunny tomorrow! We look forward to seeing you at Voices & Visions: Stories That Spark Hope on May 7. You can still get tickets at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/voices-visions-stories-that-spark-hope-tickets-1985070108130?aff=oddtdtcreator.

Thank you to our in-kind sponsors for generously donating services to enhance this event!