Denver – ESTHER Giving

Find out about families in need in Denver and get help to those in need.

Families in need fact sheet: Denver

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People experiencing homelessness

Children under 18 in poverty

0 %

People who have problems getting enough food

Families with less income than they need to live

0 %

ESTHER Giving is a new way to help in Denver

Give Safely

ESTHER pairs you directly with a verified family in need.
Your recipient gets an amount of money per month on their ‘ESTHER card’ to help with everyday essentials.
We switch off high risk purchases like gambling, alcohol and cash withdrawals.
Every recipient is part of a caring, partner community and agrees to the conditions of the ESTHER program.
You get monthly (anonymized) updates on how your recipient is doing.

Mia

Mia is a single mother who lives in Denver and is trying to get back on her feet. She started living on the streets at the beginning of her pregnancy when she and her partner broke up. At present, Mia and her daughter, Sasha, live in the family quarters of a local shelter.

Despite her challenges with mental health and raising a newborn, Mia does her best to bring in some income by various cleaning jobs. Some of her biggest expenses are maintaining her car and buying clothes and supplies for Sasha.

Mia dreams of enrolling her daughter into kindergarten, getting into their own apartment, and having some savings to decorate. She enjoys long walks, going out for coffee, and calling her mom.

Charlie

Denver

Charlie has been living on the streets for most of his life, beginning in 1974.

He ran away from home as a child to escape severe abuse. Shortly afterwards he spent several years in the Navy but returned to the streets after his service. Charlie recently got into affordable housing with the help of his friends at Christ in the City. He is slowly getting used to life indoors and has quit smoking after a 50 year habit.

The majority of Charlie’s income comes from social security, half of which is put towards his monthly rent. Some of his greatest needs are basic household items and funds for doctor appointments. He also has a great desire for the ability to host friends at his apartment, to buy more plants, and pay for some form of transportation to visit the mountains and go hiking.

Charlie really enjoys reading, hiking, and running. He is also skilled at coloring and caring for his plants.

He dreams of having some extra money to take a trip somewhere and buy a pair of cowboy boots.

L J

Denver Metro Area

L.J is mum to her 5 year old daughter and has been living on the streets of Denver since 2018 due to the breakdown of an abusive relationship and a struggle with addiction.

L.J’s biggest goal is to work towards sobriety and being able to care for her 5 year old daughter again who is in foster care right now.

She is in regular contact with a city outreach worker who is helping her in her journey to sobriety with counselling services and getting on a waiting list for transitional housing. L.J needs financial support through ESTHER donors to give her the best chance of moving off the streets and forward into recovery and a brighter future.

The facts on Denver

How many people experience homelessness in Denver?

There are 6104 people in the city that experience a lack of anywhere of their own to stay at night.

This information is gathered from the US Interagency council on Homelessness, community point-in-time counts conducted on a given night in January 2019, as reported by Continuums of Care to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Source [1]

How many people in need of food in Denver?

There are 76340 people that have a lack of access, at times, to enough food for an active, healthy life. They also have limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate foods. This is known as ‘Food insecurity’.

Source [2]

How many children in poverty are there in Denver?

11% of children in the city are considered living in poverty. Poverty is determined by whether a family’s total income is less than the family’s money income thresholds.

Source [3]

How many families in need of financial aid in Denver?

12.1% of families in the city are considered living in poverty. Poverty is determined by whether a family’s total income is less than the family’s money income thresholds.

Source [3]

What our donors are saying...

Do you have 2 mins to spare and want to help someone out who truly needs it? ESTHER connects a donation directly to someone in need, right now. World change starts by helping just one person! #localheroes

I've just signed up to this brilliant idea - I have been so troubled by the homeless people around my city recently & it's great to find a reliable way of helping. Well done @EstherGiving for making it easy - thank you!

As a donor you really feel connected and that your donation, however small, is helping to make a difference.

What our recipients are saying...

“I can’t believe that this donation is coming from actual people in my community, that other people are sharing what they have with me. It makes me want to improve my life, I've cut back on smoking and am trying to exercise more.”