Friendly Harbor Community Center

Friendly Harbor Community Center promotes wellness and recovery from mental health

and substance issues by providing a safe environment and connecting people

to healthy relationships and organizations through Peer Support. 

Happy New Year and what a great start we've had for 2025! Friendly Harbor staff and Board participated in the Annual Planning Meeting on January 18th. Ideas flowed, solutions were mapped, and lunch was shared. We at the Harbor are so excited for 2025 and our robust future. Our overarching message was sustainability. We have formulated goals to strengthen and elevate our structures and procedures. We are an organization of people, for people. Our goals are directed by wise leadership and are brought to life by brave and resilient Peer Specialists. Together we fulfill our mission, ever-reaching into the community and bringing a message of hope for all those folks who may have lost it along the way.

Fresh start for the new year! If you didn't know, our projected 2025 budget is ~$700,000! We've grown exponentially in the last few years and have built a model of both self-sustaining earned income and grant driven funding. The missing piece is you! Our donors. Individual donors make up 1 to 3% of our annual income, if you would like to help make our mission possible, consider donating at the button below.

At the Harbor

Meet Our Team!

Derrick Downs - he/him - Born and lived in Alabama until joining the military in 2003, he was discharged from the Army in 2007 at Fort Carson and has lived here in Pueblo since then. Derrick has been diligently doing peer work since 2022. When asked what Derrick likes about Pueblo he says, “I have found Pueblo to be very family-oriented, especially when someone is in need. The community college here has helped me get my life back on track through education. I always say, ‘Education is key in recovery.’” Derrick has a passion for education, meets anyone where they are in their recovery, and aids them in their pursuit of a better quality of life should they desire. When asked about his personal recovery journey, Derrick has this to share, “After serving four years in the Army and an 18-month deployment in Iraq, I returned a different person. It has taken several years to get back on track and figure out who I am and who I want to become. I have been in recovery for three years and in that time, I have earned am Associates degree and am now in pursuit of a Bachelors. No matter what you have been through in life, you can always attend college. No one can take your education from you.”

Group of the Month

The Group of the Month for January is Creativity for Self-Care! We provide some supplies for a group artistic activity. This group allows us to express ourselves and our emotions by putting them to page or bringing them to life with mixed media. If you have a creative streak and even if you don't, all skill levels are welcome and encouraged to give it a try.

If you would like a printable version of the monthly calendar of groups to share, find it under the Google Calendar that updates in real time on the webpage below.

In The Community

Our friends from Raise the Future provided a free, open to the public training called Trust Based Relational Intervention, or TBRI, the last two weeks of January. All Friendly Harbor employees registered to attend. Here's a little info about Raise the Future and the valuable TBRI training.

"Parenting is challenging, particularly when you are parenting a child from a hard place. Children from hard places include children who were born prematurely, have been abused and neglected, have been adopted internationally, and have special needs. This training will focus on understanding the meaning of child behaviors. the brain chemistry of a child from a hard place, and how to help these children (and your family) heal and connect. Participants will learn tools they can put into action with their children immediately."

Trust Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI®) is a parenting and intervention model developed by Dr. Karyn Purvis and Dr. David Cross at the TCU Institute of Child Development. TBRI® is based on a solid foundation of neuropsychological theory and research, tempered by humanitarian principles. It is a family-based intervention that is designed for children who have experienced relationship-based traumas such as institutionalization, multiple foster placements, maltreatment, and/or neglect."

Friends,

New year, new challenges! Each week, our Staff participates in a "supervision" meeting with our clinical supervisor where we talk about those challenges. We are fortunate to have her. Not only is it an opportunity to hone our Peer Support skills, but it is also a time when we check in on ourselves. We discuss where we are emotionally and professionally. We highly recommend this for all of you, and we hope you have a safe space to do this. If not, come see us!

I hope the new year is treating you well. If I can share more information about Friendly Harbor connect with me. I'm always happy to chat!

Best,

Michelle Hill

Executive Director

friendlyharborpueblo.org