Operating out of Loveland, Colorado, and Fort Collins’ The Matthews House, The Landing has offered a place for youth experiencing homelessness from ages 15 up to their 21st birthday. The Landing provides shelter and supports individuals transitioning between points in life, whether that be education, housing or employment opportunities.
The Matthews House is a community-based organization in Northern Colorado whose focus is supporting children, young adults and families. The Landing was formed in partnership with the Poudre and Thompson school districts.
According to a 2023 Colorado census published by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, there are approximately 3,000 unhoused individuals solely under the age of 24, and according to The Landing’s website, 1,800 of which are in Northern Colorado alone.
Jacqui Walz serves as The Landing’s educational liaison, and she discussed how, in many cases, unhoused youths lack a sense of self-sufficiency, which could lead to discomfort. She further emphasized how it can take time before clients of The Landing get used to a new space, as youths can experience trauma far differently than adults do.
“Every participant at The Landing is working towards goals,” Walz said. “Those goals look different for every person. If that goal includes education, either high school or moving to post-secondary, then I take part of that and focus on those pieces,” Walz said.
To enhance the safety and comfort of participants, The Landing was designed using trauma-informed design principles, which focus on safety, predictability, dignity and choice. This design and the crucial safety aspects of it represent the values of The Landing and its emphasis on growth and stability beyond a place to sleep.
After a referral and throughout the intake process, The Landing ensures every participant has the chance to outline goals for their time there and how they’ll succeed in the future.
“A lot of what we’ll do is we’ll work through kind of, like, a flow sheet of, ‘How can we support you?'” said Natalie Hammer, a case manager for The Matthews House. “We’re identifying some goals and then what steps we can take to get there. … It’s, like, education, employment (and) housing.”
The Landing operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, offering resources to youth throughout Northern Colorado. The shelter houses approximately 20 overnight guests each week.
To help similar youth who come from independent backgrounds, the Fostering Success Program was created at Colorado State University. Andrea Fortney, director of FSP, discussed the program’s resources.
“Every CSU student needs a community,” Fortney said. “Our focus on the events is really to create that sense of belonging and that sense of community. I would say, ‘We’re not a therapy program. We’re not, like, “Show up and tell us all your stories,” but it’s just a safe community.'”
Fortney also spoke about The Landing and how these two programs are connected. With events like FSP’s Independent Student Visit Day, which is held annually, The Landing often brings high school students or recent graduates to show what the path beyond may look like.
“Our Independent Student Visit Day is something that our FSP student leaders help facilitate and, again, is a good opportunity for youth across the state who may be in foster care currently or homeless to see, like, ‘Wow, I could actually do this,’” Fortney said.
As the economic and social landscape for young people experiencing homelessness continues to shift, Fortney said resources like these are crucial to their future and well-being.
“I would just say as a program we’re really supportive of all that The Landing is doing,” Fortney said. “It’s such a needed and important resource in the Northern Colorado area.”
Reach Tobias Thomasson at life@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.
