Our Front Porch is rebuilding the lives of families who become homeless when displaced by a house fire. We are building low cost, temporary housing that provides shelter, stability and trauma recovery services.
What is Our Front Porch?
We are a Denver based social enterprise helping to restore the lives of families who have lost their homes to a fire. We currently provide casework, trauma recovery services, and assistance finding new housing in the community. Most families go it alone, and it doesn't have to be this way. By building low cost, temporary housing we will be able to provide stable shelter to families, therapeutic services to address the associated emotional trauma, and help reduce the financial strain incurred from becoming homeless.
“I went to bed and had everything and woke up and had nothing.”
- Our Front Porch Client
Why Are We Doing This?
According to our partners at the Red Cross, home fires affect more people than all other major disasters. But these people don’t have access to the same federal and state resources that come with a presidential declaration. Home fires are the Forgotten Disasters and we feel these families deserve the same support as those displaced by hurricanes and wildfires.
For the last 2 years, we have worked with over almost 300 people displaced from house fires. Clients are referred to us from the Red Cross and we work with them for as long as it takes to get them back on their feet. The work we do has an immediate positive impact on families, as we reduce the amount of time, money, and stress that comes with being displaced by a home fire.
"The support that Our Front Porch gives me is like I'm home again."
- Our Front Porch Client
We have learned there are three interconnected elements to disaster recovery that need to be addressed simultaneously to really have an impact:
How Are We Solving This?
Our solution is to build short term rental housing so families can stay together in a safe environment while figuring out their next steps. Our Front Porch will be the FIRST to put everything you need to recover from a disaster under one roof.
The design of Our Front Porch is based on the fact that people heal faster when they are surrounded by others who have been through the same thing. The building itself is made up of individual living units, similar to an extended stay hotel room. Units range from 1, 2 or 3-bedrooms and are adaptable depending on family size. The common areas include a shared kitchen, laundry facilities, living room, children's play room, and the therapy and casework offices. Here is what Our Front Porch will look like!
Heather Korth, COO & Maggie Babyak, CEO
Who Are We?
Who would have ever thought an innovative solution to long term disaster recovery would have been created at a tiki bar in Key West? That's what happened when an Architect and a Social Worker came together to view this problem through two very different lenses. We combined our skills to create a new housing model that provides low cost rentals, emotional support, and community all under one roof.
Maggie is a licensed clinical social worker who has spent the last 15 years working in homelessness, housing, and disaster services. Here in Colorado, she has managed clinical support services and property management within established affordable housing programs.
Heather is a licensed architect who has worked in planning, design, and construction for the last 17 years. Designing resilient buildings was her focus as a Hazard Mitigation Architect with FEMA as well as within her own architecture practice.
Why We Need Your Money?
We are raising money to build our first rental property! The money we raise here is the first round of fundraising that will set us up to purchase property in the Denver Metro Area. We have been looking for land for the last two years, working with zoning departments, and meeting with community leaders interested in seeing Our Front Porch become a reality. We are fortunate to already have many community partners, local universities, interns and our very own Porch Panel who have helped us create this much needed resource and who believe in our mission of 50 States, 50 Our Front Porches. Acquiring land is the next step in the process and we need your help!
"There is no other one-stop agency that offers this kind of support to people who have been impacted by small scale disasters. Our Front Porch fills a much needed gap in our Denver Metro community."
- Red Cross Mile High Chapter
"Our Front Porch steps in when clients have lost everything, from support and then to housing, the women at Our Front Porch become the most stable aspect of the client's life. It is a life changing service and organization."
- Our Front Porch Intern from University of Denver
Your support today is not only helping to build the first Our Front Porch, but to also bring attention to these Forgotten Disasters. Of all the disasters, house fires can affect anyone, anytime, anywhere. There are thousands of people in our community affected by the Forgotten Disasters every year. These people are our family, friends, and coworkers. Let's show up for our neighbors today, as we would want them to show up for us in our time of need.
“Things fall apart. It’s our job, all of us, to bring them back together.”
- Al Letson, Award Winning Journalist
Thank you for your support and please share with your community!!
Heather & Maggie
