Welcome to our first newsletter

Welcome to our newsletter!

Welcome to the first ever Weld County Faith Partnership Newsletter! Ten years ago, Weld County decided to do something few government agencies dared: build a relationship with the faith-based community and ask them to help inform and support county departments regarding needs they saw or knew within our community. From that idea, the Weld County Faith Partnership Council was formed. The council’s focus throughout the years has ranged from helping strengthen community and family relationships to now addressing four primary areas in Weld County: Foster Care, Veterans, Homelessness and Youth Development.

We know that to assist individuals in each of these areas, we need to come together and take action. That’s where this newsletter comes in. Each issue will update readers as to the projects, programs and goals the partnership has toward bettering our community through these four focus areas. We hope you will join us and help in anyway you can, because when we all work together, we make Weld County better. 

Finally Home is Finally Here

The Weld Faith Partnership Council is proud to present the inaugural Finally Home Family Strengthening Event in Weld County on February 24th. The event will support 35 foster, kinship and adoptive families through education, friendship, and practical help at Generations Church, 3600 W. 22nd Street, Greeley. The program is designed to send the powerful message that “You are not alone, and we believe in you!” and is offered at no cost to families. It is broken down into adult education, Super Heroes activities and age-appropriate learning for infancy through 5th grade, and Teen Titans activities and learning for middle and high school youth.

We are partnering with Finally Home, an expert in foster, kinship and adoptive post-placement programs. Finally Home offers a variety of services to build stronger foster, kinship and adoptive families through education and connection. Our intentional partnership will equip our county to be a leader in post-placement support of families. This program ensures that children and families have a higher rate of long-term health, mutually supportive relationships, and sustainability.

This is made possible through the collaboration and support of Weld County Government and the Weld Faith Partnership Council; churches and non-profits, including Christ Community Church and Zoe’s, Generations Church, Godpath Ministries and Kiwanis; businesses, such as Rice’s Honey; plus individuals. For more information, contact Kim Parker at (970) 381-0364 or kparker@highplains.us

Cold weather shelter update

This shelter is truly a community collaboration with United Way, Catholic Charities, various faith groups and other organizations that assist in providing logistical support. Many of these organizations are providing hot meals for the guests and fellowship to show that folks here in Weld County do care.

The cold weather shelter is averaging 35 people a night during this season. They have served 108 unduplicated guests. This means that 108 folks were able to find a place to stay warm, get a hot meal and rest during this frigid weather over several days. One can only imagine how hard it is to rest in the cold and how potentially dangerous it is to actually sleep in the below freezing temperatures.

The make-up of guests at the shelter includes 63% who‘ve been living in Weld County over one year; only 27% of the guests used the shelter last year.  

There are open dates for folks to prepare and serve hot meals:  February 3rd, 11th, 14th, 16th, 17th, 22nd, 24th, 25th and 28th. Catholic Charities does provide drinks, all paper products and utensils for the guests.

If you are interested in preparing a meal, contact Monica Gerber at Catholic Charities 970-616-8606, Mgerber@ccdenver.org. Monica does request that volunteers register through Catholic Charities website ccdenver.org. For more information on the insecurity of housing in Weld County, you can visit www.weldswayhome.org or contact Cassy Westmoreland at United Way of Weld County cassy@unitedway-weld.org.

2-1-1 connecting churches
Whether it be a life changing event, immediate crisis, emergency situation or just a common “need to know” of resources, 2-1-1 can assist. 2-1-1 has the technology and the agency resource network ability to help connect our community in need with available resources and services listed in the Colorado database. A unique software process allows for easier managing of the large volume of resources and smooth search ability.

Additionally, 2-1-1 services our community through the action of information, referral and outreach to non-profit agencies, local governments, and emergency planning. We extend our same service to all local community churches in Weld County as well.

Church offices that have elected to use our service receive a brief training on how to search the 2-1-1 database for resources/services. Church offices also receive a 2-1-1
window poster and a supply of 2-1-1 calling cards to hand out. Church offices now have a direction for their walk-in traffic. These clients are usually seeking some sort of assistance to fulfill their personal needs.

2-1-1’s intake and assessment process helps to gather, input, organize and prioritize the client’s true need or other uncovered needs. Upon a final need(s) assessment, the 2-1-1 Resource Navigator will then share with the client any available active resources/services or problem solving information.

Churches can also make use of the 2-1-1 call center by directing their walk-in clients to call in for help.

Networking with 2-1-1 also helps to remove some public network abuse or misuse of limited resources/services. This is possible by use of electronic, client-intake records housed in the Colorado 2-1-1 database.