Village Institute Summer Happenings

This has been an eventful summer for The Village Institute! Their summer youth program just wrapped up as the older students head back to school. Over the month of July, Little Village kids of all ages contributed to a participatory research project to help design a new outdoor play space. They got to go to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, visit Project Worthmore at Delaney Farm, and explore parks around Aurora. The new outdoor space is scheduled to break ground in October. The Little Village also raised $50,000 through the Moonshot edVentures Shoot for the Moon Challenge. You can see their beautiful video here.

The Village Institute's newest program, the Essential Careers Pathway Program, held their first two community design sessions to co-create a curriculum focused on peer mental health and healthcare navigation, as well as further education and careers in the health and mental health fields. Refugee and immigrant women and youth, and community partners, came together to share their own ideas and experiences with education, job seeking, and health and mental health access. The first cohort of participants is scheduled to start in late September.

And in case you missed it, The Village Institute's Night Out at The Village was a beautiful evening full of food, music, dance, games, and community. Subscribe to their newsletter to find out about the next community event!

Julianna Beckert