Maiker Housing Partners recently became the recipient of a $100,000 grant award from the Colorado Health Foundation. The 12-month grant will fund expansion of community organizing and resource navigation to members of affordable communities in Adams County, as well as leadership and public policy advocacy training opportunities for member leaders. Community organizing and resource navigation efforts will focus on the members of Crossing Pointe North, Maiker’s newest affordable senior living community.
“We could not be more grateful for the Colorado Health Foundation’s awareness of the needs for this population and for their endorsement of our critical work,” said Shant’a Johnson, Maiker’s Director of Family and Community Vitality. “Expanding our work at Crossing Pointe North will allow us to provide vital assistance to seniors, a demographic that is projected to grow exponentially nationwide and in Adams County over the coming decade.”
Grant funds will allow for expansion of Maiker’s Family and Community Vitality (FCV) environment to include an additional community organizer and resource navigator who partner with members as they pursue individual life stability goals. The FCV program builds relationships with members, developing trust and ensuring Maiker housing members are: 1) heard and understood, 2) interdependent and connected, 3) feel they belong, feel powerful, and act on their power collectively.
“Instead of linking Maiker members to a predetermined set of community services, we’re shifting to a poverty and trauma-informed approach to support effective member navigation of systems to access resources that aid in stabilizing living situations,” said Johnson. “Ensuring members’ stabilization of their living situation is crucial to keeping them engaged in building community and collective power and this grant will fortify that effort.”
Maiker’s community organizers also partner with members to work together to pursue collective goals to develop the community they desire to live in. The community resource navigators work with key agency and community partners to link members to needed services, resources and programs. With this grant, Maiker is able to expand the capacity and impact of the FCV Team to reach a rapidly growing number of housing members as Maiker expands its number of properties.
You can continue to follow along with updates on the FCV program at maikerhp.org.
