Dear friends,

“Empathy is my superpower!” That’s how Director of Programs Vince Trujillo expresses his approach to leadership.

Though new to the staff, Vince and his wife Veronica have been deeply connected to Mile High Ministries for 25 years: first as young adults in a leadership program; later as some of the first resident volunteers at Joshua Station. They’ve led for decades at the Christmas Store, serving alongside extended family—some of whom received housing and support from MHM during periods of instability.

From childhood, Vince has received help from—and helped lead—many of our nonprofit and faith-based partners; including New Life in Christ Church where Veronica and Vince learned early about following Jesus and caring for one’s neighbors. They’ve also become generous financial partners along the way. At MHM we delight in blurring the lines between those who give and those who receive. The Trujillo-Gaitan family embodies that delight.

“I’m living proof that it works!” says Vince. The “it” is a blend of skillfully led programs, Jesus’s way of self-giving love, and an open invitation to contribute. Plus a good dose of Vince’s superpower: empathy. “I understand what folks are going through because my family has been there,” he says.

“We stand in awe at the burdens people carry, rather than in judgement at the way they carry them,” says Homeboy Industries founder Gregory Boyle.  This is our humble, loving posture as we create Housing That Heals.

Vince is just one of our team members who have grown through MHM programs and today help lead them—the fruit of a long presence in the community that can only happen because of the faithfulness of those who give, volunteer, lead, and pray. Please receive this annual report as an expression of our gratitude.

As we prepared for major renovation starting June 2025, we temporarily reduced our number of residents—while hiring two new program staff: Peer Recovery Advocate and Bilingual Therapist.

Housing

28,400 safe nights were spent by 103 residents living at Joshua Station. 7 families graduated the Joshua Station program and 100% moved into stable housing. 82% of the 15 families who graduated our program within the last 3 years remain in stable housing.

Adult Education and Employment

Of the 38 able-bodied parents at Joshua Station, 76% secured or maintained employment. 41% enrolled in programs such as college, GED, ESL, and basic literacy classes, and career training.

Youth Education and Enrichment

18 children aged 0-5 attended the early learning center for 10-15 hours per week. Among our school-aged children, 16 worked weekly with individual tutors, 30 attended summer programming, and 30 attended weekly afterschool enrichment programming. 77% of parents reported increased school engagement by their youth.

Mental Health

80% of adults and 83% of children reported improved feelings of mental well-being as a result of our counseling program. 83 residents (children and adults) attended 1,593 individual counseling sessions, and 80 residents attended 792 group counseling sessions. 15 parents completed parenting classes.

Alumni Engagement and Support

173 former residents received ongoing services in their transition to stable housing, including 16 individuals in 96 counseling sessions and 22 with ongoing family advocacy. 15 individuals joined our newly launched alumni group.

Christmas Store

Donors and volunteers provided a festive and dignified experience for 110 current and former residents who shopped for 320 children at a small fraction of retail price.

Volunteers Make the Difference

759 volunteers gave 4,544 hours of service with building and property maintenance, childcare, life skills training, tutoring, youth mentoring, fundraising, and more. Volunteers provided and served more than 2,989 resident meals for residents.

Impact

88 youth and 106 adults have long-term stable housing at Clara Brown Commons, with community-building support and advocacy from staff.

Impact

6 churches received in-depth guidance from our team in consideration of affordable housing on their land—focused on discernment, community engagement, and financing to help congregations make informed, mission-aligned decisions.

Over 556 individuals/households donated to MHM in the past year, including 70 new financial partners. Of this group, 203 different households donated over $1,000, totaling over $ 1.4 million.

302 donors who have given for at least 10 years—wonderful faithfulness and trust!

Charitable foundations supplement individual donations and enhance our work in ways that go beyond their vital funding. The detailed, technical homework we do together with them raises the bar for MHM’s effectiveness. And because they interact with so many nonprofit organizations, foundations provide accountability and cross-pollination that supports the generosity of the whole community!

We’re grateful for support from Anschutz Family Foundation, Anschutz Foundation, Colorado Coalition for the Homeless (Bezos Day 1 Families Fund), Caring for Denver Foundation, Colorado Health Foundation, Colorado Trust, Dawn Foods Corporate Giving, The Denver Post Season To Share, Ent Credit Union Community Fund, Gardner Family Foundation, Martin Family Foundation, Neighborhood Development Collaborative, Rose Community Foundation, Sam S. Bloom Foundation, Schlessman Family Foundation, Trinity Second Century Foundation, TyL Foundation, and Virginia Hill Charitable Foundation.

Over 40 corporations, large and small, supported our work this year. 21 churches provided funding in the past year, in addition to much-welcome volunteer engagement and spiritual support.

In these times of dramatic change, the landscape of philanthropy may be shifting. We are all aware of the contentious debates about federal safety net programs such as Medicaid and SNAP. Budget cuts at the state and city level are also in the news. Fortunately, Mile High Ministries doesn’t rely heavily on government funding. In fact, all government sources combined represented only 7% of our revenue in the past year.

Yet changes in government spending do impact us. The combination of inflation and a shrinking safety net is starting to place additional strain on families in our community. A church up the street from Clara Brown Commons has been serving 35 people in their food ministry every Tuesday for years; just in the last couple of months the number of people coming to the church for food has grown to 114.

Those same pressures are forcing some of our foundation partners to redirect a portion of their giving just to keep essential programs and community organizations afloat.

At a time when some organizations are cutting back, we are adding key positions to our leadership team and planning for growth. I say this only to express gratitude for the individuals and families who form the philanthropic backbone of Mile High Ministries. This summer our staff was moved to tears by an especially generous gift from a program participant whom we knew to be facing her own financial challenges. She told us she felt compelled to respond to God’s prompting. That kind of generosity is humbling!

—Jeff Johnsen

For more information, please visit our homepage at milehighmin.org and follow us on social media: @milehighmin (Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn).

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