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![Sean Lewis from Oakland to Colorado affordable housing We had the lovely pleasure of speaking with Sean Lewis, fall of 2024, who is a current resident at New Charity's House off of Welton Street. Sean came to Colorado at 13 years old from Oakland, California. He explained he got into sports while, attending George Washington High School, and started hanging out with different walks of people, especially leaned towards individuals who were interested in his interests. His lifestyle began to shift a bit. He started meeting new people and became interested in gangs. He soon moved back to Oakland, developed a new mentality from the end of his residency in CO to relocation to California. He said once he started being around the wrong people, he began making bad decisions. We thought to provide a Q&A from our interview with Sean to get a better scope into where he started to where he is now. 1:1's with case managers work in the same place you live is a plus. Bad things happen anytime and when you least expect it. -Sean Lewis Q. What initially made you choose Charity's House? A. I honestly didn't choose Charity's House. A woman named Tasha worked for Volunteers of America recommended the place and LaShawn [office manager] happened to work here and met her when she was 13 years old. Met people and then it started to make sense; interested in the environment; met Mrs. Eddie, Mrs. Eddie knew my mother. It all started to come together. Felt a little homey. Q. When you were introduced to Tasha, LaShawn, and Mrs. Eddie is that kind of the only set up of how you were introduced to Charity's House and the Community Outreach Service Center? A. Yea, pretty much, you hear stuff in the streets of what's going on and how people are creating new opportunities for people. Mrs. Eddie was well known for her name; you don't necessarily see her. She was known for what she was doing in the community. That name had a sense of Godliness. Q. What challenges were you facing once you came out of prison? A. Being a father to my children. You need to show up, but they need to show up as well. They need to be able to come to you and needing a place was important. My kids are at the age where they ask questions, so they speak what is at the top of their head, not trying to hurt you, but kids keep it real. They would be "dad, why don't you have a spot?" Sean emphasized he wanted to do what is best for him and his kids. Stability and being a better father were the utmost importance to him which led him to desire to find resources to get on his feet and maintain stability. Q. How does your interactions with your family go now? A. They come through all the time. My son he asked to come down here. I've always had a good relationship with my children, but I think it has given them more than they had. It's different between going home every day and having options. Options means a lot to kids. You don't realize it until you see certain things. They don't necessarily tell you because his computer at home doesn't work, so when he comes here, he's able to use the computers here. They can go to another place and still do something they want to do. We spoke on the importance of having access to resources in education, especially with kids to have the opportunity do their homework or interests they have without limitations. Q. So what resources, since we are on the topic, was more beneficial to you? Outside of the home, having a place helped with the kids and your son utilizing the computer lab. Are there any other resources that we have been providing beneficial? A. Help people with transportation to get to and from. There are things that not just make things easier but rather have access to. Having cooking events or get togethers in the morning to be with community is a resource in a sense. You limit yourself being a part of the streets it's always a risk, so being a part of something helps keep you off of the streets and be around non-toxic people. Be around like-minded people; at least see people who are sustaining. When you see people trying, it gives you the strength to try too. Q. Is there anything that Charity's House does on a daily that impact your life? A. I don't know about daily. I mean, just the place being here impacts my life. I've been able to rely on based on the renting and the people around here. I used to be in a prison so having those around that are positive is good. Sometimes you don't necessarily see the benefits until you think about the things around you and where you came from. We branched off about the importance of community. Being around positive people as well as people who have a better handle on stability. Even those who are at a level where we would like to be. To improve, it is pivotal to be around those at another level, to strive to be in a place they are in with our stability or consistency providing a growth mindset. Q. Has there been any other unexpected benefits from Charity's House? Something you didn't expect at all, and it seemed like a blessing to you? A. I guess it would be 1:1's wit h case managers working in the same place you live is a plus. Bad things happen anytime and when you least expect it. Sometimes it's important to talk to someone when you are in a bad place. When you are able to have access to someone who will meet you downstairs and support you to the next moment. I think that's what Mrs. Eddie was trying to do here to be able to communicate with somebody immediately. So being able to talk to someone that can help you get to the next moment really helps. Q. Do you think it would be affective to have counselors or mental health benefits? A. I don't know. I don't really deal with the mental, but me looking at other people around me, I can see that could be beneficial. A lot of people come to me like a mentor. I enjoy talking to people and people enjoy talking to me and I inherited it through my family. I have two family members that work in the police department. I have an older sister who works as a professor at a college. So, there are a lot of that and being on the streets, so I inherited being able to talk to people and have positive attributes. You could sometimes have positive attributes and could be using it in the wrong areas. So, I do embrace that, and I do get a chance to speak with people and listen to their lives and combat it with mine. I like to be that too. A motivational speaker. We continued to speak about how it can be easier to talk to someone who relate or someone who has been through similar life experiences. He likes to encourage and motivate those around him to be better and get to the next level with hope. Sean has so much wisdom gained from his past and uses those life experiences in an affirmative way as a role model for those around him.](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b9accb_d92763670302401fb766f7067c2da07e~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_265,h_265,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/Image-empty-state.jpg)
![The community is sick. We need to make mental health available to the those who need it. When they have access, it equips us as a community to be healed. That is why peer support is so important as the first piece to the puzzle to prevent mental illness. -Mrs. Eddie Woolfolk The Vision made Reality Mrs. Eddie has worked for this community since 1988. She has seen as time went on, the mental health of the community was one of many missing pieces to the puzzle of how to help and heal the community in the Historic Five Points black community of Denver. If there is something in place to get them started in the right direction, maybe the next generation will be searching for support to prevent further mental illnesses; and concentrate on the health of their mental before mental illnesses develop. COSC has started a pilot program for Peer Support Specialist with AARP staff being the audience of choice with their life skills and wisdom. Our goal is to provide training for those who wish to help others obtain a home and independence from challenging circumstances and be certified to make a difference. We asked participants from the training that were willing to share their feedback on what they received from the training and here is what they said: Al Smith said: "Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks," as he laughed after he received his certificate. "I learned a specific strategy to be slow to anger, not allowing my emotions to get ahead of me. That approaching difficulties (namely potentially explosive situations) with a spirit of calm can lead to better outcomes." Eric Rozelle, as you see in the photo above, knew the importance of the class because of his perseverance and determination despite outside circumstances. He processed so much while actively listening, participating, and asking questions that were meaningful to his learning. That is an example of a true peer support specialist: to be there for those around them despite opposing situations. Sandra Hunter said: "The thing I learned that caught my eye is empathy and sympathy. I really didn't know there was a difference between empathy and sympathy, and I had more empathy than sympathy. I also learned about mentor and mentee; what we can control and what we can't. The teacher explained all of that. I loved the class, and it was a very good four week of learning. I really enjoyed it." “Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks?” Doris Knight explained: "The class we took during the week of October 16 through November 7 was very informative. We learned the difference between emotions and empathy, compassion, and relationships. Relationships and our part and how we can apply these principles to the people that we see in our everyday lives. How to apply empathy. Really listening to understand where they are coming from. Also, boundaries and bravery. And tools to help with the work. Self-care is taking care of oneself. Doing the things you should do for yourself, pampering yourself." Ramona Fox stated: " I had a chance to attend a training session regarding peer support. I learned the difference between empathy and sympathy and when talking with others how to respond properly [regarding the two, empathetically or sympathetically]. I also learned how important it is to listen, to really be in tune to what the person is saying. It is a daily learning experience to use what we learned in the training. I am so grateful to have the chance to attend. Self-care: you can't care for others if you can't take care of yourself." What is to Come? The training was entry level to determine how the COSC AARP staff participants thought about doing a position in the mental health field. They provided great feedback that not only gives our team better insight on peer support specialists, are able to be anyone at any age, but this training can be used on a daily basis within the team and the families. Understanding that life experiences can be the forefront of supporting individuals in the community, especially those who feel they have lost hope and believe there is no way out or that no one understands what they are going through. We can see the impact of the peer support team we currently have in place at Charity's House New Apartments with the clients residing in the building because of the stories we hear. Due to the pilot program being a success, we are still in the process in developing the program with a new cohort in 2025 so the participants who wish to continue their education to become certified to go out into the field once their training is complete. The goal is to have various partnership organizations that will provide the clinical hours while we continue to supply the supervision and education to prepare for the certification exam. The hope is to also provide training to other staffing organizations. This is a ministry to heal and deliver; we are so thankful to see changes made possible.](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/b9accb_45b493e7cca64f0e8682b9236de3916a~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_265,h_265,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/Image-empty-state.jpg)
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