At some point along the way, Lauren McCoy — short on resources but loaded with moxie — made a vow to her oldest child.
“I made a commitment to my daughter so she could have anything that any other child has,” said McCoy, 40.
McCoy previously studied nursing while working at a children’s psychiatric hospital in New Mexico. She moved to Denver in 2006, got a job at an adolescent treatment center in Denver and changed majors to earn a degree in special education.
“I enjoyed helping kids that a lot of people are a little more in fear of working with,” she said. “I was good at it and could build a rapport with them and their families.”
She was close completing her studies when she got pregnant with Lanaya, who is now 16, and McCoy fretted over being able to handle both student teaching, a requirement of earning her degree, and the cost of raising an infant — one cannot student teach and work at the same time, McCoy said.
A friend told her about Warren Village, and McCoy and her daughter found a home there in August 2008. Warren Village is a nonprofit that offers transitional housing to single parents in need. It has a two-generation approach to end the cycle of poverty and empower families to reach self-sufficiency. Just some of the resources Warren Village offers includes transitional, private housing, parent services and advocacy, and early childhood education and childcare.
Thanks to Warren Village, McCoy was able to be the mother her child deserves and continue her education.
McCoy eventually earned her undergrad degree from Metropolitan State University and a master’s degree from the University of Northern Colorado.
McCoy also got married, and had her second daughter, Skye, who is now 6 months old.
And her career is going well, too. Next year, McCoy will become an assistant principal at a DSST Public School.
All this strengthened her desire to stay in Denver.
“I had built a life here,” McCoy said. “My need and my drive are what kept me here.”
Ethan Hemming, who for the past eight years has served as Warren Village’s president and CEO, wishes for the entire community to know about Warren Village and its value to community.
“Everyone deserves opportunities for education, housing and economic mobility,” he said.
As Warren Village celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, it is also growing. Warren Village owns two communities, and provides services at another. A third Warren Village community is expected to open in the fall at 1390 W. Alameda Ave. It will offer 89 units of affordable housing plus an early learning center.
Caroline Turner has served on the organization’s board of trustees for at least 22 years and has helped Warren Village residents wrestle with: How do I go from living on people’s couches to having my own place? Or, how can I earn a college degree? And many other life challenges.
“It’s a unique combination of elements that work to enable people to go from the dependency on public services (and move toward) self-sufficiency,” Turner said. “That’s where resident services have been key. It’s the wrap around, the totality of it. They’re so worried about rent or their kid, and we can get their focus on turning their life around.”