BOULDER, Colo. — Supporting unhoused youth is the mission of TGTHR, a nonprofit organization that's been operating in Boulder since 1966. This year, however, has been challenging due to changes in funding, which have led to the end of several services, including The Source and now the Chase House.
"So really, in the last six months TGTHR has been experiencing what so many nonprofits are experiencing nationally and here in Colorado, changes to our funding, decrease in funding and also just broader uncertainty," explained TGTHR CEO Annie Bacci. "Funding that we've been receiving for many, many, many years, even over a decade, which we had always counted on and now at the federal level has become more uncertain, and so we are making decisions now to help make sure that TGTHR can be here."
The Source, an overnight emergency shelter for youth and young adults, now has windows boarded up and signs on the doors informing community members that services are no longer being offered. The Chase House, a residential treatment program for youth experiencing homelessness, is closing this month.
The Chase House was the only residential treatment program in Boulder County for unhoused youth.
"Recently, with all these funding shifts, we have taken a really hard look at our organization and how we can have the greatest impact on young people, and we have made the difficult and painful decision to close Chase House at the end of this month," Bacci said. "It wasn't a decision we took lightly. We worked really hard with our board to look at what's the impact we can have."
Bacci said the nonprofit is "actively working on transition plans" to ensure the young people who are receiving support at Chase House are supported when the service stops.
Christina Carlson, CEO of Urban Peak, told Denver7 that young people experience homelessness for many reasons, with the three driving factors being family instability, LGBTQ+ youth, and youth aging out of the foster care system.
"Working with youth experiencing homelessness is a way to really do that upstream work where we can do intervention before folks have years and years and years of chronic homelessness, because that trajectory in starting with someone when their brain is still developing and they haven't experienced long stands of homelessness really creates that change," Carlson said.
TGTHR is not the only one stopping services. Carlson said The Place in Colorado Springs is also closing its shelter.
"We're already beginning to see the impact of that on our services, so I think our numbers will go up," Carlson said.
TGTHR will continue offering its supportive housing program in Boulder, which is affordable housing with intensive clinical and behavioral support for youth. Right now, Bacci hopes the community will recognize the need in the community and help them continue their mission.
"Well, I think some of the biggest solutions are how does the local community step up and support organizations like TGTHR during this time?" Bacci said. "So, we are doing a lot of outreach. We are meeting regularly with the city and county, and they've been great partners and helping to figure out how do we maintain some of these critical services."
