DENVER — It's no secret that north Denver is changing. It’s leaving many of the residents who have lived there for years feeling pushed out and unsure how voice their concerns.
A new group, North Denver Women Who Lead is hoping to change that.
"North Denver Women Who Lead is an opportunity to engage the women in these neighborhoods and help them understand a lot of the resources available in these communities through the city, grow them as leaders so that they can then empower other women in the community to speak up for their families and for themselves as well," Morgan Huber said.
Huber is the coordinator for the North Denver Cornerstone Collaborative that organized the first cohort of the North Denver Women Who Lead program. It’s a 12-week pilot program that’s aimed toward women in the Globeville, Elyria, and Swansea communities.
"There's a lot of construction projects happening in the area and a lot of change happening in these neighborhoods and a lot of moms and women were showing up at these meetings speaking for their entire families but it was unrealistic for every mom to come to every meeting and be able to be engaged with every project,” Huber said.
Which was how the program was born. The idea is to empower local women so they can be a voice for their families and communities.
"To be in a group of just all women, inspiring to be leaders has been a blessing for me,” Tee Than, one of the 23 women taking part in the program, said. "I wasn't aware of the resources that were here in the neighborhood and being in this program has exposed me to those resources."
The program focuses on connecting with mentors, building leadership skills and learning ways to engage in the community.
"I'm always in my house with my kids so I thought, no maybe that's a program from women who are professionals who have a career but being in the program has taught me anyone can be a leader,” Estephania Valenzuela, a participant, said. "It's motivating me to do more and work harder for my kids, for my family. I can do a lot of things that I thought that I couldn't."
At the end of the program, each one of the participants will receive a stipend to offset the cost of childcare, transportation, and other barriers they had to overcome to take part in the group. They’ll have a graduation ceremony next month.
"So I definitely want to be someone to inspire others, especially women, especially people in the north Denver region,” Than said. "It's important that women are able to know that they can be leaders and they do have a voice."
Huber said, this group will teach them how to use that voice.
"Women really need you know, this step up and support from each other from this program so that they can improve this community,” Huber said. "There are 23 women in the program who are going to make big changes in this community."
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