Afterwork Program for Kids and Parents Strengthens Families and Communities Across Denver

When Daniel Brisson, professor in the Graduate School of Social Work (GSSW), started volunteering with the Bridge Project, an afterschool program run by GSSW, in 2012, Stephanie Lechuga-Peña (MSW ’05, PhD ’16), director of the Quigg Newton Bridge Project site, found that much of her time was spent with parents—sparking the idea for a dual-generation afterschool program. 

Now, more than a decade on, Your Family, Your Neighborhood (YFYN) has worked with hundreds of families to strengthen relationships between children and their parents and throughout neighborhoods in low-income and subsidized housing communities in Denver. 

The program recently received a $160,000 grant from the Tony Grampsas Youth Services Program, a division of the Colorado Department of Human Services, to continue fostering connections between children and parents and their communities and schools through shared meals, educational curriculum and discussions on community issues.

YFYN offers afterschool activities and support to children between the ages of 7 and 12 and their parents. The weekly sessions begin with a communal meal, followed by separate parent-only and child-only sessions before the families reconvene to discuss how they can integrate what they’ve learned at home, in the classroom and throughout the neighborhood.

The content of the curriculum changes with each cohort, adapting to the challenges facing each neighborhood at the time. “Those issues are going to change, depending on the day, the year, the month—if there was a problem at the schools, if a house caught fire in the neighborhood, if there was a political leader elected,” says Brisson. "So, we decided one of the first things to do with all the families is to ask them what is going on in the community. We focus on three things: what’s going on with you and your kids and your family unit; what's going on at your school; and what’s going on in your neighborhood.”

The program takes place in six different neighborhoods each year, with cohorts in the fall, winter and spring to match the rhythm of the academic year.

The results have been notable. “We find that parents report more, and more trusting, relationships with their neighbors. Qualitatively, we hear things like, ‘My next-door neighbor and I now share pick-up responsibilities,’ and ‘I never spoke to my neighbor before this program. Now, she watches my children as I walk to school and pick up the kids.’ It’s really kind of a profound thing that we hear,” Brisson says.

Since 2012, YFYN’s impact has been evident through several studies and trials: 90% of parents reported having stronger bonds with their children, feeling more connected with their community and being more engaged in their child’s education. Parents also report that they communicate better with their child’s schools, spend more time reading to their children and are better able to establish homework routines. 

With a record of positive impact in communities in Denver, the program launched in Phoenix in 2019. “We would love the program to be adopted in new subsidized housing communities throughout the Denver area, throughout Colorado and throughout the country,” Brisson says. 

To make expansion easier, the team has made much of the curriculum open source, allowing other communities to replicate the program with ease. They also continue to explore local- and state-level opportunities to bring the program to new communities.

Brisson says an aspiration for YFYN is that every time a housing development opens, the program would offer “the chance to get to know your neighbors, for parents and kids to get together, to learn about each other, to focus on what they have in common, which is deep hopes and dreams for their children, and to work together to meet those goals.”