Our History

In 1993 a group of dedicated passionate community members came together to address the growing issue of youth violence and school drop out rates in our city. Denver had just experienced what was referred to as the “Summer of Violence”, a period of intense gang activity.

We wanted to make a difference.

In 1994 we worked with our first group of youth who had already dropped out of school. We included youth who were Crips, Bloods and Skinheads in that first program.

Since 1994 we have shifted the focus of our work to address youth who have not dropped out of school but rather who are at risk of doing so. In Denver, 37% of its youth will not complete high school. Our focus is to re-engage students and have them look at what's possible for their future if they complete their high school education. 95% of students in our Steps Ahead program stay in school!