December 16, 2025
Each year, countless young people exit foster care, navigate the justice system, or face the risk of system involvement, confronting significant challenges that can impact their long-term well-being and success. Diakonia serves at-risk youth who face these hurdles, which are often mutually-reinforcing, leading to a negative feedback loop of homelessness, poverty, unemployment, and exploitation. Diakonia’s services address this crucial issue by providing needs based vocational programming and services to youth who have been socially marginalized to help them succeed in the workplace and ultimately in life.
Diakonia will use the ECB Giving Back - Looking Forward $10,000 grant to help meet the increased demand for vocational services for at-risk youth within the community. Each month, Diakonia is forced to turn away approximately 10 young adults referred by agencies within the foster system, the justice system, and alternative high schools across the community because of limited capacity. A grant from
Eastern Colorado Bank will help Diakonia achieve its goal of serving 90 at-risk youth in 2025 through education and employment support while maintaining caseloads and workloads that promote the greatest chance of success for all clients.
