Meet Remarkable Women nominee Tracy Brooks of Denver Rescue Mission
DENVER, Colo. (KDVR) — FOX31 is honoring remarkable women in our community.
We asked our viewers to nominate women who make a difference in our state and Tracy Brooks is one of our nominees.
In an organization with the mission of rescuing those who need it, Denver Rescue Mission's Chief Program Officer Tracy Brooks takes on every day as an opportunity to listen, learn and help.
'To give them the opportunity to be seen and heard and to have those conversations, I think is is one of the greatest gifts we can give somebody,' Brooks said.
Free on Your TV • New FOX31+ App for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV
If you ask those she has served and hired, Brooks is the true gift to her community.
'In a world where there is a lot of hardship, it's easy for someone to want to look away, and Tracy doesn't look away,' her colleague Deb Butte said. 'Tracy looks at it with curiosity and with hope and continues to ask the question, 'What do we need to do? Why are people here and how do we engage in what the need is?''
Brooks leads her team with a focus on empowering those she works with to help those battling extreme hardships.
'When I met her, I was a single mom who'd kind of been out of work for a while raising babies, and I was having a hard time getting back into the workplace,' Denver Rescue Mission's Rachel Lopez said. 'She snapped me up and made me feel wanted and felt that I was being underutilized and kept giving me a bigger and bigger platform to be able to do the work with her.'
Brooks, a Colorado native, felt a calling to transition into her career path two decades ago.
'I had had a career in business, and I had a friend who went into this field, and I was praying one day and saying, 'Why does she get to do something that helps other people? And I don't?'' Brooks said. 'And a month later, Salvation Army called and asked me to come interview for a position, and that kind of started the ball rolling.'
Sign up for the FOX31 Denver Guide weekly newsletter for events and activities
Twenty years later, the circumstances leading fellow community members to the Denver Rescue Mission's doors isn't lost on Brooks.
'In my personal journey, I was a single mom for 10 years and had I not had the supports around me, family and community, I very likely would have ended up homeless,' Brooks said. 'It was a lot with three children, but I had community that supported me and there's so many people that don't have that benefit.'
Brooks' colleagues who nominated her as a remarkable woman tell FOX31, since being named Vice President in 2021, she's played an integral role in helping nearly 1,500 households find stability out of homelessness.
'And yet homelessness isn't a static number,' Brooks said. 'And so, we talk about 1,500 and we're so happy we came alongside them. The hard thing is, our environment is one when a family leaves, another one comes in. So the need is greater now than when I started.'
Download the FOX31 App: Breaking news alerts & Pinpoint Weather
Brooks and her team are coming up with new ways to empower those they serve. One recent way was changing the way they intake people.
'Instead of just getting information and getting them into the building, we're really sitting down and spending 30 minutes with them and trying to figure out other alternatives at the front door,' Brooks said. 'We have a team that vets resources and that's unusual to have a team that vets resources. But the greatest deterrent for people moving forward is loss of hope. And that loss of hope often comes because someone's given a bad resource. So I call it the magic door.'
It's magic that Brooks hopes to inspire daily.
'We're looking at prevention and diversion,' Brooks said. 'How do we catch people before they become homeless and keep them from being homeless? What are interventions we can do with that? And so really constantly looking and seeing how do we need to maneuver, where do we need to change to move?'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
KC nonprofit serving seniors struggling due to federal cuts
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A home delivery of a hot meal is a blessing for people like Marilyn Driver, a retired teacher and families like John Johnico's. 'By the end of the month, that's the hardest time when you're retired,' Driver said. KC2026 provides update on FIFA World Cup tournament plans 'Without that program, we would be struggling even harder than we are now,' Johnico said. 'We're blessed to have our food delivered.' Delivering the meals are volunteers with KC Shepherd's Center, which focuses on helping seniors. 'We are the fastest growing population, we are the fastest growing homeless population, and yet funding is not keeping up at all,' Janet Baker said. Baker is the executive director of the organization. She said right now they're stretching their resources thin to keep Meals on Wheels operating. 'We're in crisis to be honest with you, and already only receiving one percent of funding,' Baker added. The Shepherd's Center is one of the largest nonprofit providers of Meals on Wheels, keeping homebound seniors on a fixed income fed. Baker said this year alone they've lost $500,000 in funding, lost one of their other programs and can now only serve 600 people, half of the number they were serving two years ago. 'You know you're going to have something to eat until that next month comes,' Driver said. 'Meals on Wheels is a lifesaver for elderly people.' 'If they were to stop it, there would be a lot of people hurting because we do need it,' Johnico added. Download WDAF+ for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV Now they're heavily relying on the community's support to continue providing some relief. 'Will you fill an empty plate? Will you provide us with the ability to deliver meals to hungry homebound seniors?' Baker asked. . All donations will go toward feeding homebound seniors in Kansas City. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Weekend Jewish kids' event changes plans due to security concerns
DENVER (KDVR) — In light of the Boulder terror attack, some Jewish organizations are rethinking their public events. Some hesitation among those in the Jewish community gathering in public after the Boulder attack. One growing group in Colorado, Valley Beit Midrash Denver, said they will not cancel their events, but they will take precautions to make it safe. FBI warns of threat to Israeli, Jewish communities after Boulder attack, others Usually, the event is at Washington Park in Denver, and they have since decided to move it inside Temple Emanuel, citing safety reasons. '[We're] taking all measures necessary to ensure the safety of everybody who joins and our team,' said Ariel Nassau with the Valley Beit Midrash Denver. 'It's disheartening. It is the situation that we're going through right now, and we have to adapt as hard as it is.' Valley Beit Midrash hosts monthly events for young families and is having to scramble to make sure those who come feel safe. The event is called Jewish Learning, and they teach kids between one to five years old about different topics through reading, crafts, and activities. 'All these feelings of being scared, being sad, being shocked. They are overcome by being together, by talking, by creating community. So I would encourage people to do it, in spite of it being hard, especially right now,' he said. The event is June 7, from 9:30 to 11 a.m., and this month's topic is diversity. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
REMEMBERING ONE OF THEIR OWN: Volunteer, wildland firefighters turn out in force to remember Chief David Warfel
HALIFAX, Pa. (WHTM) — Firefighters from across the area came together Friday to pay last respects to a chief who lived life fighting fires and serving his community. David Warfel died last week at a wildland fire training academy in Cumberland County. A longtime firefighter in the Halifax and Powells Valley area, he was most recently chief at the Carsonville Fire Company in upper Dauphin County. His company remembered him as 'always a cheerful, musical, funny guy.' He was also Forest District Maintenance Supervisor at the Weiser State Forest, working for the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources in the Bureau of Forestry. The Bureau of Forestry, which houses DCNR's wildland firefighting outfit, came out in force to remember one of their own as dozens of their white and green wildland fire trucks joined in a procession at Halifax High School. At Riverview Memorial Gardens, aerial apparatus from Lykens and Millersburg draped a flag over a ladder archway under which the procession passed. 'Beyond his professional accomplishments, Dave was a cherished colleague and friend,' DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn said shortly after his passing. 'His camaraderie, integrity, and kindness enriched the lives of all who had the privilege to work alongside him. The entire DCNR family mourns this tremendous loss and extends heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones.' Download the abc27 News+ app on your Roku, Amazon Fire TV Stick, and Apple TV devices Governor Josh Shapiro ordered flags to fly at half staff Tuesday through sunset Thursday evening in his honor. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
