temporary housing Archives - Our Front Porch

Insight from OFP Interns: Madeleine Veith, University of Denver MSW Intern

June 16, 2021/in colorado, Denver, disaster, disaster relief, disaster stress, fire, homeless, house fire, intern, long term recovery, mental health, our front porch, support system, temporary housing, therapy, trauma /by Heather Korth

What have you learned during your time at Our Front Porch?

The most profound sentence I have heard from a handful of clients these last seven months still resonates so deeply: “Thank you for not giving up on me.” I am learning from my clients how difficult it is to navigate after a home fire. They share about unwavering stress, profound grief, and a new need to rely on the people around them… something so difficult and humbling especially for my most independent clients. As people navigate finding new housing, recovering items/documents, and renegotiating boundaries with loved ones, it can seem like nothing is going well for them. I work with these clients in case management and therapy, and I am amazed. They navigate such profound difficulty with tremendous resilience, and they often experience a newfound softening towards leaning on others. That is where that sentence—thank you for not giving up on me—comes in. I am always caught off guard, in part because I can forget how exposed they feel in losing the four walls they could safely live behind. Yet, in calling our clients each week, listening to their stories, and empathizing with them throughout the highs and lows of rebuilding their lives, I see their resilience and courage to keep going. I cannot help but feel honored to enter into their stories and offer support in the small ways I can… but more than anything it has shown me the importance of offering support to my loved ones and receiving support as well. We are all so much stronger when we can lean on each other.

August 15, 2019/in colorado, Denver, disaster housing, house fire, post-disaster housing, temporary housing, Uncategorized /by Heather Korth

The first Our Front Porch Home is now here! See the announcement here!

How to Get the Most Out of Renters Insurance

February 14, 2019/in disaster, disaster stress, fire, house fire, insurance, long term recovery, our front porch, renters insurance, temporary housing /by Heather Korth

In the last blog, I discussed the nuts and bolts of renters insurance and how affordable it is… so there’s no excuse not to have it! And while renters insurance can be very helpful, if you don’t know how to use it, it can end up being a tremendous headache.

This Work is Hard

May 25, 2018/in colorado, Denver, disaster, disaster housing, disaster relief, disaster stress, fire, hardship, healing, high rent, homeless, house fire, long term recovery, mental health, our front porch, post-disaster housing, rebuilding, social enterprise, startup, support system, temporary housing, therapy, trauma, volunteering /by Heather Korth

Guest Blogger: Paxton Leibold, Our Front Porch 2017-2018 Intern

Hurricane Harvey. Photo Credit: Olivia Vanni/The Victoria Advocate/Associated Press

Coming into this internship, I did not know what to expect. I had little to no clinical experience, I had never worked with the ‘short term’ homeless population nor clients who had severe trauma, and I honestly did not know how to do case management, let alone effective case management. However, while being a part of this organization, I learned how to do all of this and so much more. I learned that trauma can manifest in completely different ways within the same disaster, and that people are the most resilient when something tragic happens to them. From clients that have anxiety and depression, to clients that just want to move on; they are all resilient and deserve help. Another thing that I learned is that I am so irritated with how our society is ran. These types of clients (short term homeless) get little to no assistance through resources through in communities; why you ask? Because these people are physically not living on the street; per the homeless requirement in Denver, so they do not meet the criteria for government aid.

How messed up is this?

10 Things No One Tells You About Being Homeless

February 9, 2018/3 Comments/in childcare, children, colorado, Denver, disaster, disaster housing, disaster stress, eating healthy, hardship, homeless, homelessness, job, mental health, support system, temporary housing, trauma, Uncategorized /by Heather Korth

Part 2

Guest Blogger: Taylar McCoy, Our Front Porch 2017-2018 Intern

In my most-recent blog post, I wrote about the fact that until I began working with Our Front Porch, I had no idea just how difficult it is to become totally stable after living in that type of unstable environment. The difficulties of trying to save money and start fresh, all while searching for house and looking for a job, are magnified with you’re also trying to support children or a family. And unfortunately, there are other factors that make the recovery process so difficult to navigate.

Photo Credit: Matt Longmire

10 Things No One Tells You About Being Homeless

February 7, 2018/1 Comment/in childcare, children, disaster, disaster housing, disaster stress, hardship, high rent, homeless, homelessness, job, support system, temporary housing, trauma, Uncategorized /by Heather Korth

Part 1

Guest Blogger: Taylar McCoy, Our Front Porch 2017-2018 Intern

As a child, I remember riding in the back of a friend’s parent’s car on a brisk day where our breath fogged up the windows. We were driving through the heart of the city in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As we were covered in goosebumps, we pulled up to a red light where we saw a woman with a cardboard sign. After reading the sign describing her situation, and her two kids, my friend’s dad proceeded to say “why can’t she just go get a job like the rest of us? There’s no excuse to be homeless.” We drove past the woman and didn’t give her a second glance. As I grew up in the more rural outskirts of the city, I tended to start to share a similar mentality. I would often think about how if I see “now hiring” signs in windows everywhere, why are there so many homeless people?

Photo Credit: Daniel Nelson

How Our Front Porch Helps

January 22, 2018/in children, colorado, Denver, disaster, disaster housing, disaster relief, disaster stress, fire, hardship, healing, high rent, homeless, homelessness, house fire, hurricane, hurricane harvey, long term recovery, mental health, our front porch, post-disaster housing, social enterprise, support system, temporary housing, trauma, Uncategorized, volunteering /by Heather Korth

Guest Blogger: Paxton Leibold, Our Front Porch 2017-2018 Intern

Every person in the United States faces struggles on a daily basis. From running out gas, to losing a credit card; the human race struggles in every aspect of life. But what happens when a natural disaster hits and you lose everything you own and love? Would you be able to pick up and move on, know what to do, or be able to function soundly? I know in my personal life, I would not be able handle the most basic of everyday tasks. People are resilient and can handle so much, but sometimes they need help in this crisis period. I say this, because this is what I do in my internship: I help individuals who have lost everything due to a natural disaster.

Residents wade through floodwaters in Beaumont Place, Texas during Hurricane Harvey. Photo Credit: Jonathan Bachman/Reuters/Newscom

Working in Long Term Disaster Recovery

March 1, 2017/2 Comments/in colorado, Denver, disaster, fire, house fire, long term recovery, mental health, our front porch, post-disaster housing, renters insurance, social enterprise, startup, support system, temporary housing, therapy, trauma, Uncategorized, women /by Heather Korth

Guest Blogger: Carla Williams, Our Front Porch Intern 2016-17

Moving to Colorado less than 5 months ago, was nothing short of my biggest life decision. I knew University of Denver was offering me a chance to be a part of an amazing program I couldn’t pass up. Within our program, we are required to partner with a local internship for field experience. That was when I encountered Our Front Porch.

From left to right, Carla, Heather and Sarah presenting Our Front Porch’s services at the Arapahoe County Resource Fair.

Compassionately Listening

January 11, 2017/in colorado, Denver, disaster, disaster stress, fire, healing, house fire, mental health, support system, temporary housing, therapy, trauma, Uncategorized /by Heather Korth

Listening with compassion sounds pretty straightforward, but it is often more challenging than you think. I have had lots of practice, especially when I’m working with disaster survivors, and I still have plenty of room for improvement. I have often gone back to this Dalai Lama quote as I think it so well describes how to truly be compassionate:

“Usually, our concept of compassion or love refers to the feeling of closeness we have with our friends and loved ones. Sometimes compassion also carries a sense of pity. This is wrong. Any love or compassion which entails looking down on the other is not genuine compassion. To be genuine, compassion must be based on respect for the other, and on the realization that others have the right to be happy and overcome suffering, just as much as you. On this basis, since you can see that others are suffering, you develop a genuine sense of concern for them.”

~ The XIVth Dalai Lama

Heather responding to a disaster as part of the Red Cross Disaster Assistance Team.

How Much Should Housing Cost?

June 16, 2016/in colorado, Denver, disaster, disaster housing, disaster stress, fire, high rent, house fire, post-disaster housing, temporary housing /by Our Front Porch

The generally accepted rule of thumb for housing costs is 30% of your income. Do the math. Where do you fall on the spectrum? If you live in the Denver metro area and are renting, that percentage has been steadily increasing over the last few years. According to Housing Colorado, one out of every four renters in this beautiful state spends more than 50% of their income on rent. So what do housing costs really look like?

Image Courtesy of www.makeroomusa.org