FIRC’s Impact
Family Services Making a Difference
The cost of living in Summit County, Colorado, ranks fourth in the state and as a result, FIRC works to inform and educate community members and clients about making smart financial decisions so they can maintain a self-sustainable lifestyle.
At FIRC, we believe in offering a resource center for family and social services that will make a long-lasting difference. We offer life skills classes, individual case management and family support to encourage more stability within families resulting in a stronger community.
Financial assistance with rent and utilities helps to prevent homelessness or utility disconnection. To receive these services, families or individuals must show they are making an effort to become stable and self-sufficient before we provide financial assistance.
In addition, we have a Food Bank for families and individuals facing hunger. Families can also receive clothing vouchers and diapers.
In the Families United Program, we provide home visitation, parent education, support groups and family events to anyone who may need the extra support. Qualification for these programs is not based on income or economic status as we know the need for support in the areas of parenting and family is universal.
The service we provide
The service areas FIRC addresses directly results in community improvement and movement towards stability for families. The following graph shows where we allocate program funds to address direct service needs.
Family Center Results
The services we provide have a direct impact on the families who receive our help. Through surveys conducted on families before and after they receive services at FIRC we can see there is clear improvement towards stability in all areas and significant move toward stability in the areas that are directly related to service including housing, utilities and parenting skills.
In order to ensure progress is made in Summit County in all areas of addressing poverty, FIRC collaborates with over 25 community agencies and connects families to those resources to achieve a continuum of services for those families.
FIRC’s Global Summit program addresses continuing rise of immigrants in Summit County by supporting the needs of the immigrant community, as well, as the needs of the receiving community through integration and education programs.
The programs are implemented in conjunction with partner agencies as well as local and county government cooperation. To date Global Summit has participated in over 15 Cultural Competency trainings, two of which involved the Summit County School District staff and Law Enforcement.