WORKFORCE

“Every individual has the core of the program, but then what do they need to remove the barriers?” Green said. “And that’s where the real magic has been. Being able to customize and take down those barriers so when they leave here, they don’t leave with the same barriers that they came in with.”

Participants can enter the program through referrals from jails, service providers or just by walking in the front doors, she added.

After graduating the program, trainees are assigned an after-care case manager who checks in with them, continues to provide resources and keeps them engaged in a supportive community.

“When I’m asked what is really the reason this model works, what I can honestly say – it’s the community,” Green said. “We work every day so hard to build a community that is supportive, that is loving … that holds everybody accountable … but we have fun, and we laugh, sometimes we cry.” e program has an average graduation rate of 75%, with 80% of graduates maintaining a stable job and housing one year after graduation, Green said.

Marques Ivey, a member of the board of directors, said the program is successful because it not only provides immediate housing and employment, but also teaches sustainable skills and life practices.

“You can give somebody a job — but if you don’t teach them how to maintain that job, if you don’t teach them how to operate that checkbook or get a checking account, they’re gonna fail,” he said at the ceremony. “You can give a person food for a little bit — but if you don’t teach them how to earn funds so they can take care of themselves, they’re gonna fail.”

Mike Sandgren, Tri-Cities Homelessness Services Coordinator for Arapahoe County, re ected on the impact Ready to Work could have on the number of people experiencing homelessness in the region.

According to Point in Time Count, there were 514 people experiencing homelessness in Arapahoe County on Jan. 24, 2022. e Point in Time Count is an annual, unduplicated count of people experiencing literal homelessness on a single night in January, according to its website.

“In the facility that we’re standing in … being able to take up to 50 individuals per year from the streets and creating that pathway out of homelessness into self-sustainability, you can start to see, year over year what type of substantial impact that’s going to have for our region in terms of responding to issues related to homelessness,” he said.

Sandgren said the process to add the Englewood location started in 2018. With the building about to undergo renovations, Bridge House hopes to have residents living there by early 2024.