The COVID 19 pandemic is officially over, but the devastation still reverberates through global supply chains, health care systems and local economies. The Holistic Homestead is located in the small, rural mountain community about one hour West of Denver in Colorado that was the worst hit county in the country by the COVID 19 pandemic. In Gilpin County, we have a population of about 5,800 with more than 70% of revenue tied to the gaming industry. When the pandemic hit, Gilpin County was a bedroom community where access to healthy food and health literacy were limited to the Homestead’s outreach capacity, and there were no clinics, no pharmacies, no public transit and no grocery stores – save for the Homestead Market.

While we have slowly but steadily been improving health literacy and access to health and wellness resources since 2013 we are still struggling to make ends meet.

OUR GREATEST STRENGTH AS A NONPROFIT is our DIVERSE PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATION with other organizations in the community. We have consistently reached out to and developed positive working relationships with Gilpin County Human Services, Public Health, the Gilpin Food Pantry, Eagle’s Nest Early Learning Center, Gilpin School District, Central City Government, and Gilpin Parks & Recreation.

HOWEVER, With Gilpin County’s ONLY daycare center Eagles’ Nest Early Learning Center closing permanently in November, and an important ballot measure failing to fund the Gilpin Community Center, our most important community partners no longer exist or have the capacity to collaborate.

Eagle’s Nest struggled on the threshold of existence for long enough, holding on to any thread of hope, until they had to reduce their staffing and hours of operations beyond the point of profitability. Reducing hours and staff at the Rec Center contracts them to the edge of realistic feasibility. Whether you are a nonprofit, a for profit, an llc, or government agency, you still need to make ends meet. The dominos are falling fast in Gilpin County, and it appears that this CONTRACTION COULD LEAD TO COLLAPSE.

(As an aside, is it just us? Or are we experiencing a symptom of a more insidious virus such as an impending global recession? Read The Washington Post’s Economics 101 take on the Domino Effect here.)

THIS IS MY REFLECTION ON THE STATE OF AFFAIRS IN OUR SMALL RURAL MOUNTAIN COMMUNITY, and I have a hunch that we’re not the only ones on the event horizon of collapse, offered to the Gilpin County Board of Commissioners at their public hearing regarding the 2024 budget:

“Dear Community,

The Holistic Homestead has been improving health and wellness in Gilpin County since 2013. 

For the past 10 years, our programs and services have brought the community together through active partnerships and collaborations with local organizations including Eagles Nest and Parks & Recreation. 

It is essential to appreciate how interconnected we all are – not only has the Homestead provided fresh healthy produce and health education programming to Eagles Nest and the Parks & Rec Youth Program, but we have also created thriving community programs that build health communities through education, outreach, and advocacy. 

The reality on the ground: Without the Mill Levy funding, Parks & Rec will have to cut the wonderful community events that Krystal Meyer has developed and delivered over the past 2 years. The Farmers Markets, Fun Run, and Health Fair are vital community events that are currently threatened by the lack of community support and the lack of funding. 

As we are all interconnected, with Eagles Nest closing, Parks & Rec is being called upon to fill the gap in child care, and yet without significant funding, Parks & Rec is also having to contract their programs and services – including the youth program, Tae Kwon Do, and community events. Without child care, after school youth programs, Tae Kwon Do, and community events, the Homestead will not have the capacity to bring the Farmers Markets and Health Fair events to Gilpin County. 

Gilpin County does not have the capacity to absorb further contraction, everyone in the community needs to show up and work together NOW before the essential basic services – child care, community gathering spaces, and healthy food – collapse and disappear completely.

Sincerely, Arwen Ek, founding director of The Holistic Homestead