Hide In Plain Sight was founded in Douglas County, Colorado on February 11, 2015 with the purpose of breaking the cycle of homelessness and poverty through education. Education in raising awareness in the community of this adversity not often seen by members of the community because the vast majority of homeless student couch surf, or go from house to house, to find a safe place while they pursue their dreams. And Education of the homeless student through post-secondary studies at a trade school, college or university.
There are several common factors in the students we help but the one that is most common is that these students are not defined by their adversity but by their aspirations. The next factor is that almost all of them when asked why they should receive a HIPS scholarship respond that they are sure there is someone more deserving than them but they want to become the person that can change the lives of those who are experiencing their same adversity and make their lives better!
The first question I had to ask myself after learning there were so many homeless students in Douglas County, was what defines a homeless student? In 2001 under the No Child Left Behind Act-the McKinney Vento Act was formed which stated that a homeless student had no regular, fixed or adequate nighttime residence. This could mean a hotel, RV, tent, car but in most cases it meant the student and their family would “couch surf” or go from home to home and live in basements, garages, or spare bedrooms. In 2014 8 of 9 DCSD homeless students had a parent or legal guardian with them. But that meant 1 in 9 DID NOT!
In just under 7 years HIPS has awarded 252 scholarships valued at $692,000. That’s an average of just over $2,700 per school year. In the last year we are increasing that to $5,000 per student per school year we are looking to help fewer students, but those most in need with a higher investment in their education per school year. In 2020, during the pandemic, we awarded 31 students over $113,000. Our average in the 2020-21 school year was $3,600 per student. The average GPA of these 31 students during the pandemic when they couldn’t go to school and were in virtual lockdown like the rest of us was 3.69 GPA!!! HIPS is very proud of these students’ performance and use of the funds provided by our very generous benefactors.
We support homeless or students in poverty who attend a community college, trade school and then transfer to a 4 year university. Our scholarships are best used to remove the barriers of food and housing insecurities, transportation, technology, child care and general living expenses. Basically we seek to remove the barriers or stressors our scholars face while pursuing their education. Currently we award new applicants between the ages of 17-25 and then intend to follow them every year until they gain their certificate or degree and see them placed in the workforce.
After our first 5 years we found that of our first 186 scholars, 116 had graduated and a remaining 55 were still enrolled. That equates to a 92% success rate. Pre-pandemic we saw a very high job placement primarily because of our partnerships with the community colleges and trade schools as they have to achieve a high placement rate to retain accreditation of their curricula.
As for IMPACT: Besides putting these students in a position where they can achieve their education, become competitive in the job market, earn a living and sustainable wage and set the example for others in their family by finally breaking their cycle of homelessness or poverty, we have found the following: The Colorado Community College System in a recent study found that for every $1 invested in high quality education, there is an $11.30 future economic return to state revenue and social savings. So taking the donations we have received over the past 6+ years and multiplying it by $11.30 HIPS has been able to provide a future economic impact of $7.8M!
Another aspect of leveraging our donor’s generous contributions is that for the 6th consecutive year, HIPS has been awarded a matching $1 for $1 Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative Grant from the Colorado Department of Higher Education and their Workforce Development Program.
Speaking of impact, here are stories a just a couple of our scholars. Please remember that every one of our scholars has a story and each one is rich in adversity and extremely relentless and tenacious in their resolve to achieve their dreams!
Zoe was the first homeless student I ever met in Douglas County. In fact, Zoe helped me start Hide In Plain Sight back in March of 2015 when she graciously allowed me to share her story and YouTube videos about her adversity. Without Zoe, HIPS would have had a much steeper climb to begin to inform the people of Douglas County of the dilemma that is student homelessness.
Zoe’s parents were separated. On December 27, 2011 her parents decided to meet at the McDonalds on Parker Rd. in Parker, Colorado to discuss their family situation. It was a snowy evening and when her family arrived at the McDonalds, Zoe’s mom sent Zoe and her sister inside while she and Zoe’s dad met briefly outside. Within minutes Zoe’s mom was shot and killed by her dad and then minutes later her dad took his own life. At this moment Zoe and her sister were both parentless and homeless.
The News channels ran this sensational story for quite a while during the next couple of weeks and when Zoe returned to school after Christmas break she was bullied because of all the attention the story was drawing. Zoe then left school, attempted suicide, failed and ultimately began a process of healing. Somewhere in her Zoe found the love to forgive her dad. She then returned to school and over the next 4 years lived in 13 different homes, not knowing for how long each stay would be and sometimes was given only 10 minutes to get out and find another place to lay her head at night.
I met Zoe when I started HIPS in 2015 when the Homeless Student Liaison at the Douglas County School District recommended that I introduce myself to her. At that time there were over 900 homeless students in the DCSD. By June of 2015 Zoe received HIPS first scholarship of $3,000. HIPS followed and supported Zoe for the next 4 years as she attended Metro State University and graduated from there in May of 2019……debt free! Zoe used her scholarships for food and housing insecurities so she could have a safe place to achieve her academic goals. Zoe graduated with a 4.0 GPA and in the summer of 2019 was invited to and attended an international research project at Cambridge University in England.
When she returned Zoe joined the HIPS Board of Directors in April of 2020 and from October of 2020 to June of 2021 ran HIPS social media efforts while participating in a very decisive way in several policy committees bringing the perspective of a homeless student to a Board of people who had never encountered this adversity in their lives. Zoe made a real significant difference in reforming some of our fundamental policies.
In July of 2021 Zoe resigned from the HIPS Board of Directors as she went off to Humboldt University in northern California to pursue her Master’s degree in Research.
Kayla grew up living through multiple unsolvable problems that changed her through her works of positivity and perseverance. Her mom was always sick having a tumor, gastric bypass and problems with prescriptions and alcohol. Her dad did not go to college so he worked proletarian jobs. Since Kayla’s mom was so sick they scarcely had any money. In 2015, when Kayla was 15, her mom passed away so Kayla took the initiative of being the mom in her family and cared for her younger sister over the next several years. When her dad remarried, Kayla and her sister went to live with their grandparents. Through all of this Kayla decided she wouldn’t let her past hurt her, but she would push to strive through life. She has used her past life experiences, of which she had no say in the decisions or outcomes, to push through the negativity and sad times to find the positive.
Since I first met Kayla over 3 years ago now, she has lost 70 pounds! During the pandemic in 2020, Kayla lost her job, became employed but because she had to work so many hours while going to school she lost her Medicaid insurance. Kayla is a 4 x returning HIPS scholar who has graduated from ACC with a 3.69 GPA and is now in her senior year at UCCS in Colorado Springs. She attends school full-time and has two part-time jobs. Kayla has a 3.6 GPA and will graduate next spring with a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science. Kayla is a strong, determined and independent young woman who makes responsible decisions and is determined not to make the same mistakes her family has made in the past. We are very proud of Kayla at HIPS and we recently invested our donor’s money into her 4th scholarship to support her in her senior year at UCCS with rent, food and transportation costs.
KIMBERLY was born in the US but her family moved to Mexico when she was seven years old. She came back to the US at age 16 to finish high school and live with friends of her family. This arrangement was not the best choice to come back to in the US. Kimberly then found out about Eagle Academy where you could go to school and work. She worked full time at age 16 to support herself while going to high school. Kimberly finished 4 years of high school in 2.5 years. Oh, and she did so while having to learn English all over again.
She took extra classes at the same time at Highlands Ranch High School so she could graduate sooner. She took additional classes online outside of school at the same time. She volunteered while in high school at “Night to Shine,” which is a prom for people with special needs. Kimberly earned an honor for exceeding her required high school community service hours by 150 hours. She then volunteered for “Wreaths Across America”, where she placed Christmas wreaths on veteran’s gravesites at Fort Logan.
Kimberly graduated from Eagle Academy in January of 2020 and enrolled at ACC for the fall of 2020 to earn a degree in Business Administration and Human Resources. She earned a 3.5 GPA in her first year with the help of a Math tutor, which HIPS provided a scholarship for, where she earned a B in Math! Kimberly will graduate from ACC in December of 2022 where she will pursue her bachelor’s degree in International Business at Metro State University.
To learn more or support our mission please visit our website at www.hideinplainsight.org.