About the Denver Inner City Parish
Organization Background
The Denver Inner City Parish (DICP) was established in 1960. Although begun under the aegis of several Protestant churches, the Parish is a non-denominational, human service nonprofit organization. The Parish has many programs that focus on improving the quality of life for low-income, primarily Latino/Latina residents of the Denver Metro Area. DICP encourages community members to shape the agency’s mission.
Our programs originally served the La Alma, Lincoln Park and Baker neighborhoods. With the gentrification of this area, however, many low income Latino families now live in other parts of the Denver Metro Area.
Program participants travel from communities such as Commerce City, Aurora, and Lakewood. Many participants express that they still feel this neighborhood is their home and that the Parish provides a sense of community. Many of our employees and volunteers were once participants at the Parish, several of our students at the school had parents who attended many years before. Several of the seniors have children and grandchildren who attend Parish programs.
While we celebrate 50 years of service to our community, there is always a need for our programs. Over the past five decades the programs have occasionally changed faces, but have always been focused on the purpose of improving the quality of life for youth, seniors, and families.
Goals
The Denver Inner City Parish’s goals are:
- To cultivate a resident-driven, spiritual, social and educational center for all ages in Denver’s low income communies.
- To strengthen families and individuals, from children to seniors, so that they achieve more stable and self-sufficient social and economic lives.
- To develop community leadership, so that our often disenfranchised community attains collective empowerment.
- To foster hope through education, so that community members of all ages create a larger vision for their lives while becoming role models for the community and the generations to follow.
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