Tennyson Center for Children celebrates life-changing work for Colorado families at annual Spring Luncheon
On Wednesday morning, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts' Seawell Ballroom was packed with people celebrating the Tennyson Center for Children. The nonprofit has been providing paths to healing from trauma for more than 120 years, and its Paths to Healing Spring Luncheon honors those efforts. The event is emceed annually by CBS News Colorado Anchor Mekialaya White.
The luncheon also garners support and funds for Tennyson, which offers prevention and early intervention for children and families who've experienced trauma. Tennyson's goal is to keep children and families safely together. It also offers a day treatment school, community-based programs, and residential services.
"We are in an uncertain time," said CEO Mindy Watrous. "Today, we are grappling with how to bolster our agencies and the people who do the work of helping children and youth thrive as we face the prospect of damaging and deep budget cuts. As Congress debates the federal budget, essential programs like Medicaid are on the chopping block. If those cuts go through, access to care will be stripped from 1.3 million Coloradans. That includes low-income families, people with disabilities, and nearly 40% of Colorado's children."
Watrous continued, "Make no mistake, children's mental health is in crisis. Rates of anxiety, depression, and trauma-related symptoms in kids have surged over the last decade. The children we serve at Tennyson are arriving with more complex needs and more severe symptoms than ever before. They've experienced abuse, neglect, abandonment, and instability. And if we want to break the cycle, we have to treat their mental health with the same urgency as their physical health. At Tennyson, we believe that every child deserves the opportunity to heal. To feel safe. To know their worth. And to imagine a future filled with possibility."
To learn more about the work being done by Tennyson Center staff or help with their efforts, visit their website.
