Focus Points 2020-2021 Annual Report
Building better communities by strengthening families
Since 1995, Focus Points has been serving and advocating for families in the Greater Denver Area.
Our vision is that families empower themselves by attaining the tools needed to unlock their potential and contribute to a thriving, vibrant community.
Letter from Jules Kelty, Executive Director
Dear Friends, 
Much like the year before, the 2020-21 year at Focus Points was yet another unlike any other. We were still in the thick of the global pandemic, and everyone in our community was working together to stay safe and healthy as we started taking baby steps back to “normal.”
Yet also like the year before, and much like throughout our 26 years serving those in Denver, our community and staff stepped up in unbelievable ways to make sure we were still able to offer services to those who need them. This annual report highlights those accomplishments, as we adapted and bolstered our services to continue strengthening families.
One of the highlights was partnering to create mobile COVID-19 vaccine clinics, which saw great participation and helped close the equity divide in who received the lifesaving shots. Additionally, we continued our valuable partnership in the Denver Metro Emergency Food Network to deliver meals to those facing barriers to food access, whether because of reduced or lost income, fewer transportation options, or simply because of where they live.
Most of our existing programs continued forward, too, including our Adult Education, Early Childhood Education programs and social enterprises. We even launched a new social enterprise, Huerta Urbana 2-Gen Farm Incubator, that aims to increase access to organic food while training participants in urban agricultural practices.
Like always, our work depends on others in the community – from businesses to organizations to individuals – to make this happen. We are grateful for all of the support and collaboration we found again this year. Thank you.
I look forward to continuing this important work into the future, whatever it may hold. If we’ve learned anything, it’s that challenges are sure to arise – but it’s how we approach them, by coming together with grit and optimism, that will get us through. The Focus Points community did just that, and we are stronger because of it.
In unity,
Jules Kelty
Our Impact at a Glance
We provided warm hand-offs for participants seeking services offered by other organizations.
Our social enterprises generated wealth that is distributed back to our participants and to our community.
The data included in this report represents Fiscal Year 2021, beginning July 1, 2020, and ending June 30, 2021.
COVID-19 Vaccine Clinics
In support of helping keep our community healthy and protected, and to elevate vaccine equity, we partnered with Denver Health and other organizations to offer free COVID-19 vaccine clinics. Vaccine clinics were offered as standalone events and also integrated into our other programs and offerings, to make it as easy as possible for community members to get protection against the virus. We also held information sessions to support a greater understanding of the vaccine.
Denver Metro Emergency Food Network (DMEFN)
At the onset of the COVID-19 crisis in 2020, Focus Points teamed up with several partner organizations to form the Denver Metro Emergency Food Network (DMEFN), to prepare and deliver meals to households facing food insecurity. We continued that important partnership to deliver meals to those with barriers to access to food.
Adult Education
Focus Points continued to support our community by offering Adult English Language Acquisition (AELA) classes, as well as through our Colorado Refugee Services Program (CRSP) program that supports refugees in language acquisition, integration, and employment. We were able to adapt our programs for the pandemic; thanks to a Fidelity Investment Grant, we updated our classrooms with technology so our AELA programming could offer a hybrid model of both in-person and virtual, and the CRSP program supported a virtual platform for participants.
Early Childhood Education (ECE)
Through engaging, evidence-based home visit programs – Parents as Teachers (PAT) and Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) – families with young children received resources, guidance and support to set up their children and family for success in the future. During the pandemic, programming was offered both onsite and virtually.
Workforce Development
Our Workforce Development team provides a valuable service for both job seekers and employers, focused on readiness, replacement and retention. We provide job seekers with support writing application materials, soft-skills development, interview preparation, and referrals to training opportunities. We are also a trusted partner in talent development and connect qualified applicants with available job openings.
Some specific services offered this year included: Coffee Talk, Job Placement, Mock Interview, Resume Building, and Training Programs.
Participant Spotlight: Silvia Hernandez
“My name is Silvia Hernandez and I was born in México City. I moved to Denver in July 2013. In August 2016, I joined the Comal Heritage Food Incubator program.
I have so many great memories from my time at Comal. The first year went by quickly and before I knew it, we were planning our first year anniversary party.
In 2017 ‘Top Chef’ came to Denver gave us the opportunity to share our family recipes with all the chefs on the show! In 2018 I was on the team that opened a pop-up in Zeppelin Station. That was a huge opportunity for me! I was able to assume the role of manager and gained invaluable experience in that project.
I learned so much that I was able to start and grow own business, La Catrina Grill. Last year when we had to close Comal due to the pandemic, I thankfully already had my business license and my experience in the Comal program to lean on. I was introduced to Michael Graham from Lost City who gave me the opportunity to partner with the Denver Metro Emergency Food Network where I prepared around 3,000 meals a day for people in need impacted by the pandemic.
In November 2020, I was part of the team that started Comal’s new weekly meal-kit project Comal@Home. I am now running Comal@Home for the entire month of May as my final project.
When I am not at Comal, you can find me preparing meals for Denver Public Schools, making dinners for the homeless through the SOS project and running the newly launched Silvia at Lost City Café , where I serve breakfast with plans to expand the menu to lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch. I want to be an example for my children and teach them to never give up and follow their dreams.”
Back to School 2021
This year, our Back2School backpack distribution and resource fair was a huge success thanks to support from our generous sponsors, volunteers and community. We distributed backpacks filled with supplies and information, and donated more than 50 backpacks to other organizations.
Thank you to our event sponsors CSU Spur, the Denver Office of Transportation and Infrastructure, Colorado Health Foundation, and FedEx. Thank you to our event partners Central 70, Garden Place Academy, the GES Coalition, The GrowHaus, Northeast Transportation Connections, Swansea Elementary, Swansea Recreation Center, Tepeyac Community Health Center, and Vales-Perry Branch Library.
Through this free backpack and school supply distribution, students in our community were able to head back to school with not only the essential supplies they need to succeed, but also the confidence and excitement to kick off the year right.
Family Support Services
Through our Family Support Services, participants received guidance and help with applications for public benefits and emergency assistance, including those created to support during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as support in establishing financial and personal goals.
Huerta Urbana 2-Gen Farm Incubator
On Earth Day, we were proud to launch our Huerta Urbana 2-Gen Farm Incubator, an “earn-while-you-learn” social enterprise. Huerta participants began learning about urban agricultural practices, working toward a certificate from Colorado State University, while also increasing neighborhood access to organic, locally-grown produce. Vegetables were planted in a newly built raised garden bed.
Social Enterprises
Our social enterprises – Comal Heritage Food Incubator and Huerta Urbana 2-Gen Farm Incubator – provide unique earn-while-you-learn programming that equips participants with the skills and training they need to successfully launch and grow food- and agriculture-related businesses. All of the profits from our social enterprises are re-invested into the programs and participants that generate them.
Comal Heritage Food Incubator
Huerta Urbana 2-Gen Farm Incubator
Front Desk
Our bilingual Centralized Services team interacted with hundreds of callers and visitors, directing those seeking support to the appropriate internal programs and providing external referrals – offering the community a valuable resource and ear to listen.
Community Engagement
During the pandemic and with the increased needs in our community, we adapted and bolstered our community engagement outreach to promote healthy living and well-being for all. Many of our programs, such as adult exercise and Cooking Matters, were offered on a virtual platform to make access even easier (and safer) for participants to attend.
Focus Points 2020-2021 Annual Report
The data included in this report represents Fiscal Year 2021, beginning July 1, 2020, and ending June 30, 2021.
