WEEK OF JUNE 8, 2023
VOLUME 134 | ISSUE 46
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Middle schoolers advocate for South Platte River health BY NINA JOSS NJOSS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Bridge House leadership members and public officials from Englewood, Littleton, Sheridan and Arapahoe County “break ground” PHOTO BY NINA JOSS at the new Ready to Work location in Englewood.
Ready to Work: Workforce and housing program breaks ground in Englewood BY NINA JOSS NJOSS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
By this time next year, an old roofing company building on South Windermere Street in Englewood will be a vibrant home, workplace and resource center helping people find their way out of homelessness. Elected officials and community leaders from Englewood, Littleton, Sheridan and other areas of Arapahoe County gathered on June 2 for the groundbreaking ceremony of the third location of Ready to Work, a workforce training and housing program run by the organization
Bridge House. With funding from many community partners, including Englewood, Littleton, Sheridan, Arapahoe County and donor foundations the new location will house about 48 individuals, Bridge House CEO Melissa Green said. “The most incredible part of opening up this house is we’re gonna have roughly 150 beds in the Ready to Work community,” she said at the groundbreaking ceremony. When individuals enter Ready to Work, which currently operates out of Boulder and Aurora, they live
VOICES: 12 | LIFE: 14 | CALENDAR: 17 | SPORTS: 20
in a private bedroom with shared dormitory-style bathrooms, Green said. On their first day, participants are employed by one of the program’s social enterprises, either landscaping or the culinary program, which offers catering and other food services. In addition, trainees receive personalized support services including recovery groups, job readiness classes, financial management guidance, career mentoring and on-site medical and dental care. SEE WORKFORCE, P10
Approximately 30 storm water drains in Littleton now boast bright colors and educational messages, thanks to a sustainability project by four local middle schoolers. Each year, students at Mackintosh Academy Littleton create projects for the World Affairs Challenge, a global competition focused on creating solutions to address the United Nations sustainable development goals. This year’s theme for the challenge is “the water nexus,” which inspired seventh- and eight-graders Rachel Leatherman, Jessie Miller, Alie Rodina and Nate Villier to focus on the South Platte River. “We’ve all interacted with the South Platte in our lifetime, and it’s pretty near to where we live,” Miller, who lives in Lone Tree, said. “It was just something that we could easily connect with, and that would also matter.” Making storm drains educational
When the students were doing their preliminary research on the river, they learned that a significant amount of pollution in the river comes from untreated stormwater. SEE STORMWATER, P13
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GLOBAL MOVEMENT Studio brings in dance from around the world P14