About Us
The Empowerment Program Inc. is a licensed mental health and drug treatment program providing trauma-informed and gender-responsive outpatient services. We believe that participants benefit most from a holistic approach, where many types of treatments are available to meet individual needs. We meet people where they’re at, and encouraging realistic options for reducing harm in sexual activity and drug usage so individuals can use what works for them. Some of the harm reduction strategies we use include HIV/HCV/STI testing, PrEP Navigation, sexual wellness, sharps disposal, Narcan for the community, and safer drug usage kits that reduce bloodborne pathogen transmission. Alongside our harm reduction program, we also assist individuals in overcoming barriers in receiving HIV healthcare services through individualized case management.
We offer a variety of services to promote participants’ mental, physical and sexual health. We work in partnership with our participants to help them reach their goals along their individual journey.
Wellness spreads, and when you take time to focus on your wellness you are also taking time to increase the resiliency of your family and community. If you are interested in reducing harm to your body by addressing substance use and mental wellness this is a great place for you to start.
Through our work as a licensed mental health and substance use disorder education program, our peer specialists and care managers provide individual and group classes that cover substance use disorders, sexual health, mental wellness, financial stability and more to support participants as they build the skills necessary to achieve their goals. Our peer specialists and care managers provide individual resource navigation of support systems. Our classes and support groups are offered at The Empowerment Program as well as in our housing facilities, Denver County Jail, Project: Elevate Halfway House, and various local collaborating shelters and service agencies.
We are also here to support our participants on their path to employment. We offer individualized job placement and support to our participants as they navigate the employment process. We work with individuals who are recently released from incarceration, in a half-way house, and those who will soon be released.
To us, Empowerment is…
Empowerment prioritizes the physical and emotional safety of our participants. Empowerment practices trauma-informed care by building caring relationships in safe settings where our participants can feel seen, heard and validated.
Although specializing in providing care for cis and trans women, Empowerment also extends services to men. The staff members of The Empowerment Program embrace and cherish diversity. We work to recognize and respect the gender identity of each of our participants and connect them to programs that can help them feel safe and successful as their authentic selves.
Empowerment stands in solidarity with racial justice movements across the country, including the Black Lives Matter movement. We condemn police brutality and the systemic, physical, emotional and psychological violence of individuals within BIPOC, AAPI and Latinx communities. We also condemn the larger, societal disease of white supremacy and the entire system of racist, oppressive rules, laws, policies and practices that evolved out of the persistent refusal to view all people as equals.
Empowerment incorporates harm reducing practices into our programming to help our participants minimize high-risk behaviors in all areas of their lives including drug use, sexual contact, mental health wellness and more.
Our work is responsive to the needs of our Empowerment community. Our individual and group programs are led by and/or created in collaboration with staff and participants with lived experiences.
