Through the Family and Senior Homeless Initiative, hundreds of Denver faith congregations have reached out to the needy with astonishing results. Now, hundreds of formerly homeless families and seniors are self-sufficient and living in stable housing. What compelled all these mentors to reach out with such powerful, transformative effect?

As you might imagine, mentors could tell you many stories about what first sparked their interest in the Initiative. Some initially heard about the chance to mentor through word of mouth and the opportunity struck a chord with them. Others met a homeless person or family, and this first-hand encounter with poverty compelled them to get involved. Still others have gone through tumultuous times themselves and now want to come alongside struggling families to provide help, understanding and friendship to those in need.  

For Cheryl Fleetwood, the inspiration to mentor came from a Denver Post article. The article, published right after Hurricane Katrina, lauded the outpouring of help to hurricane victims, but went on to profile a Denver resident who had been living hand-to-mouth in our midst for years. Cheryl was really touched by this woman's story. The account of this woman's hardship prompted her to ask herself, "Why does it take a hurricane to prompt us to reach out to others who are struggling - what about those people in our midst every day who are struggling and who can really use some help? Who in my community needs my help?"

"Originally, I had ideas about creating my own program," she says. "But then when I found out that the Mission and City of Denver were doing this, I decided to get involved."

Cheryl currently mentors through Central Presbyterian Church, along with four other mentor team members: Jack and Jane Van Zytfeld, Hall Skeen, and Lisa Daniel. Together, these five team members currently mentor a mother and her children. "[Before], the family lived in a motel," Cheryl says. "She had lost a job, and they had been evicted from an apartment. It was really eye opening. After we first met, she got the money to move into an apartment. She found a great place!"

Cheryl thinks it's wonderful that each person on her mentor team contributes different and important strengths to the mentoring mix. "You do have structure to your time together. That's one of the best things about the program," Cheryl says. The Family and Senior Homeless Initiative provides structure and flexibility so that mentors can use his or her gifts, connections and experiences to help out. For example, one Central Presbyterian mentor's schedule allowed her to help provide transportation to the mentee mom. Another team member's social work background helped her to discuss difficult issues with the mentee mom, while another team member helped out with practical things like tires and school supplies. Still another team member was able to connect the mentee mom with her tax attorney father, who provided help with tax-related questions and issues.

The wider Central Presbyterian Church congregation jumped to pool their resources, too. "When we pulled in the wider congregation for furniture items, we got a great response!" Cheryl says. "Twin beds for the kids, couches, clothes, baby items, household supplies." She believes mentorship benefits not only the mentee family, but also the mentor team, and the larger congregation. "You have a small subset of people getting to know each other better through mentoring together and that in turn creates deeper relationships within the congregation which strengthens the whole church community," she says. "It's a good, healthy thing for people who have different lives and perspectives to share from each other and learn with each other."

When asked about the challenges of mentoring, Cheryl replies, "You have to be realistic. You have to just appreciate whatever seeds are planted.   It's not going to be a silver bullet or magic pill. You have to trust. You do your best, and you trust it is going to make a difference in this person's life."

She continues, "If I am going to be involved in anything, I want to be involved in something that actually makes a difference. I feel strongly that this mentoring program is proven to make a difference in people's lives. It doesn't require that much. It's not like it requires a ton of time or attention or resources. It's just sort of giving of yourself. It's a real, reasonable way for people to get involved."

Cheryl adds, "It doesn't require an exorbitant amount of time and energy, and yet I think the impact you make on someone's life is potentially huge."

Thank you, Central Presbyterian Church, Mayor Hickenlooper, and the Denver Rescue Mission for working together to make a real and lasting difference in the lives of the homeless.