[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 106 (Monday, July 26, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1650]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


 WARREN VILLAGE IN DENVER, COLORADO IS AN INNOVATIVE AND UNIQUE FAMILY 
                           SERVICE COMMUNITY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. SCOTT McINNIS

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 26, 1999

  Mr. McINNIS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to 
recognize one of Colorado's most innovative and unique family service 
communities, Warren Village in Denver, Colorado. Warren Village is a 
service created to help low-income single-parents move from public 
assistance to personal and economic self-sufficiency through subsidized 
housing, on-site child care, counseling, and education, or job 
training.
  Warren Village was established in 1974, marking July as the 
institution's 25th anniversary. Upon establishment, Warren Village was 
the Nation's first federally subsidized transitional housing program 
for single-parent families. Founders of Warren Village included Warren 
United Methodist Church, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, and local business leaders.
  Warren Village provides three integrated programs to its residents. 
The housing program provides accommodations for families of up to four 
children and one adult. The Learning Center uses a multi-cultural and 
gender-fair curriculum for at-risk urban children. The Family Services 
Program provides comprehensive case-management, vocational assessment, 
and life classes on topics ranging from goal achievement, to parenting, 
and leadership opportunities.
  Residents of Warren Village are required to participate in activities 
that include evening educational classes, volunteer services, and must 
attend school or work full time. These activities must be completed as 
a condition of their lease agreement; progress of each resident is 
monitored quarterly. Residence at Warren Village is not an entitlement, 
but rather a privilege to be earned by personal progress.
  Warren Village is a nonprofit organization that has more than 1,500 
active community volunteers from schools, businesses, youth groups, and 
churches. In 1998, Warren Village had over 1,800 unduplicated 
volunteers donate their time. The limited financial resources of the 
institution are supplemented by the time and remarkable talents of 
these volunteers.
  Over the past 25 years, Warren Village has received numerous national 
and State honors and awards for its outstanding services to the Denver 
Metro area. Warren Village has become a national model for providing 
constructive solutions for serious issues that plague every community 
in the Nation. With more than 2,500 families graduated from the 
program, cities across the country have replicated the Warren Village 
model.
  I would like to congratulate Warren Village on 25 years of remarkable 
service and outstanding dedication to the community of Denver, as well 
as the State of Colorado. The hard work and significant achievements of 
Warren Village exemplify the notion of public service and civic duty. 
Colorado is both honored and extremely fortunately to have such an 
effective agency derive from our State.

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