CASASTART at the Mi Casa Neighborhood Center after-school program

Located at Lake Middle School – 1820 Lowell Blvd. Denver, CO 80204

(303) 571-1881 phone (303) 571-1883 fax

The CASASTART program, housed within our after-school program at Lake Middle School, is an important part of Mi Casa Resource Center’s youth and family development strategies. The hallmark of Mi Casa’s approach to working with youth is to engage the whole family. Our target population at Lake Middle School is 89 percent Latino, and nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-cost lunch. Currently there are 12 students enrolled in CASASTART through the Mi Casa Neighborhood Center at Lake.

The focus for most of our CASASTART students is helping them become engaged in school and build positive relationships with adults. Each CASASTART student stays after school to receive individual tutoring and homework help, as well as to participate in the fun activities at the Mi Casa Neighborhood Center - computer workshops, newspaper journalism, jewelry making, gardening, arts and crafts, sports, band, and more.

Mi Casa’s CASASTART Case Manager and Youth Advocate, Shaina Gonzales, meets with each of the 12 families once a month to assess the family’s needs and connect them with community resources. When she makes home visits, Shaina will often bring the family a bag of food from the local food bank. Shaina also connects the families to housing assistance, subsidy programs for utility costs, low-cost furniture and house wares for families that are in transitioning out of homelessness, and other human services. “If a family doesn’t know where they will come up with the money for rent or food, it’s almost impossible to support a child through school,” Shaina says.

Danny Thomas is an eighth grader at Lake Middle School and a star CASASTART student. Danny is from a single-parent household and being African American, Danny has struggled feeling like an outsider at his school, which is predominantly Hispanic. But with solid support from CASASTART, Danny’s sixth grade uncertainty faded, and now as an eighth grader, Danny takes pride in his role as mentor to younger, African American students at Lake who are struggling with the same feelings of loneliness and isolation that he once did.

Danny’s accomplishments after school and in CASASTART are many. Recently Danny got to take home his very own computer after completing the TechKnow program that teaches kids about computers, including how to take them apart and put them back together. And in recognition of Danny’s outstanding effort and dedication to school and community, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver nominated Danny for one of their 2009 Youth of the Year awards.