Resident Programs - Community Gardens

Rocky Mountain Communities is celebrating 20 years of providing affordable housing to some of the most vulnerable people in the state.  This year, we expanded the community garden at our Mountain Terrace property to give our residents access to more vegetables and healthy food.  Join us at our Annual Awards Dinner and Gala celebrating 20 years to learn more about Rocky Mountain Communities and the programs we provide to our residents - young and old.

Neighborhood Stabilization For Free

The recent economic downturn has caused an epidemic of foreclosures in neighborhoods around the country. This is hardly news.  This is an opportunity for us to bring our attention to our neighbors who can use help and participate in stabilization efforts.

Perhaps the biggest challenge is that we barely know our neighbors. We live on cell phones, the Internet, and in a media age. Frequently, we have friends in neighborhoods miles away, and yet we don’t even know the name of the residents two houses away.  An important component to the stability and value of our neighborhoods is the sense of safety and security for ourselves, our families, our elderly, and our children.

Accordingly, consider the following actions which will not add to the Federal deficit, but will make your neighborhood a better place:

1. Cut the grass of your neighbor’s yard.
2. Hold a block party, and get to know your neighbors.
3. Shovel the snow from your neighbor’s driveway.
4. Watch and feed your neighbor’s pets when they are out of town.
5. Clean up any vacant lots.
6. Keep watch over any vacant homes. Pick up any trash, newspapers, or mail.
7. Invite your neighbors over for dinner.
8. Check in on any elderly living in the area. Run errands for them.
9. Stage a neighborhood work day to clean up trash and improve landscaping.
10. Bring cookies to your neighbors.

It’s the residents of a neighborhood that give it both life and value. Areas where people care about one another are poised to be the kind of locations that others will want to move into. Rather than allow our neighborhoods to fall into a state of disrepair and neglect, let us step up our efforts as neighbors to care for our neighborhoods.

The beginning of RMC

RMC’s mission is to develop, own and manage affordable housing and provide support services to help individuals succeed in life and build strong communities.  Our vision is that households in Colorado should have the opportunity to feel connected to a community and live in a decent and affordable home.  Founded in 1992, RMC will celebrate its 20th Anniversary this year, 2012.   In the past 20 years, more than 11,000 RMC families have benefited from affordable housing and programs.

The majority of our residents, working families, earn less than 50% of the area’s median income (in Denver County, the income of a single parent with two children is $27,500 or less).  Without RMC’s decent and affordable housing our residents (some of the state’s most vulnerable) might be forced to live in overcrowded and sub-standard housing or even worse – become homeless.  It is for these people and the over 1,000 children live in our communities that we work tirelessly to provide a safe, stable home.

Our Values - Integrity

Our Values - Dignity

Our community gardens, nutrition and cooking on a budget classes, the summer lunch program for children, the after school snack and homework assistance programs, are but a few of the dynamic programs and services that we provide for our residents to succeed in life.

Our Values - Diversity

Our Values - Accountability

Twenty years ago, Rocky Mountain Communities was founded with core values in mind to help our residents get ahead.  As we kick off our anniversary celebration, we invite you to learn more our communities and the people we support.

Why We Believe in Affordable Housing

This year, Rocky Mountain Communities (RMC) is celebrating 20 years in the affordable housing industry. There have been many changes since the organization was founded, both as a company as well as in the economy. Incorporated in 1992, RMC originally was called Rocky Mountain Mutual Housing Association. Today, RMC owns and manages over 1,000 affordable units throughout Colorado for families making 30-60% of the area’s median income.

The average move-in income at an RMC property is $20,496 – just 36% of the state’s median income of $56,993. Richard Taft, who was hired as RMC’s President and CEO at the beginning of 2012, sees great things on the horizon for RMC, the industry, and perception of affordable housing.

“Affordable housing is a challenge, but it works,” he said. “It not only works to strengthen the family on the inside, it dramatically strengthens the community on the outside.”

Affordable Housing Impacts Economic Competitiveness

Affordable housing is a crucial component of an area’s economic competitiveness, but RMC believes that it goes further than that. By partnering with organizations and businesses in the community, RMC is able to broaden the opportunities it provides to residents. Area businesses and agencies are invited to provide specific training and access to technology, as well as to sponsor youth activities.

These partnerships not only provide tangible benefits for residents, but they also strengthen neighborhoods by fostering good relationships between residents and area businesses. The greater neighborhood is stabilized when residents stay longer in their homes and transfer skills learned into other areas of their lives.

Stable Housing and Education Lead to Success

Oumar, a former resident of RMC’s Garden Court Community, credits the community for helping him see the importance of stable housing and education. His family moved into Garden Court shortly after his parents divorced. Because of the affordability and safety of the community, his mother was able to raise four kids while attending school and working full time. Oumar worked with the I Have a Dream Foundation and stayed in school, keeping his grades up and eventually qualified for a scholarship. Today, he is a recent college graduate with a degree in sociology and anthropology and has returned to Garden Court with Americorps to help with the current afterschool program in the same community room where he did his homework.

Join us as we embark on the next 20 years providing more families like Oumar's with a safe, stable, affordable place to live.