LOCAL NEWS EEQUAL COMES OF AGE BY DOUG HRDLICKA WHEN MATINE KHALIGHI AND ALYSSA GORKIN were in the eighth grade, they took a course on community outreach. The idea was for each student to volunteer for a specific cause. Khalighi chose to help foster children, and Gorkin selected an animal rescue. Helping their community resonated with them so much that the two looked for other ways to volunteer outside of the course. “The class was about building a better community, as well as the importance of community and community involvement,” said Gorkin. “It was a really rewarding experience but was very telling about how different parts of our community are underrepresented and also, how difficult it is to have a voice of leadership in the nonprofit world.” That summer, they founded Helping the Homeless Colorado, which delivered meals and hygiene products to homeless communities. Later on, the two would start the Colorado Scholarship Awards Program, which assisted homeless youth in paying for post-secondary education. It was soon after this that the Denver VOICE first featured Khalighi and Gorkin. The Colorado Scholarship Awards Program would help lay the foundation for what would later become EEqual, the next step in the evolutionary cycle of Helping the Homeless Colorado. Through their work, Khalighi and Gorkin heard how many people began experiencing homelessness when they were young adults. As young adults themselves, Khalighi and Gorkin often identified with the youth who were currently homeless. It seemed to them the cycle of homelessness could be prevented at a young age, with the right type of intervention, but it wasn’t until their senior year that they would begin MATINE KHALIGHI, FRONT WITH HIS EEQUAL COLLEAGUES. PHOTO CREDIT: EEQUAL to reconcile the ideals of eighth-graders with the business foundations of a non-profit to grow that mission. “There was this elephant in the room, that we have this really successful grassroots initiative happening right now, but how do we take this to the next level? How do we make this last, while also acknowledging the fact that when we created this we were eighth-graders, and as eighth-graders, we knew nothing about business plans, strategic plans, building a brand – that was all out of our league,” remembers Khalighi. The year following their high school graduation, Matine and Gorkin would reimagine Helping the Homeless Colorado, beginning with changing the name to EEqual and continuing with developing a mission that encompasses what they learned as high school students. They wanted to make sure EEqual was reaching its full potential. “We had two successful galas. We also had a pretty strong individual donor base through networking, and by that point, we could be doing more,” said Gorkin. The two adjusted their programming to be more youth-focused. They continued to include the scholarship program, to which they made some adjustments. They also added the Chapters Program, which helps youth become active in their communities. “By January 2020, we kind of had an idea of what we needed to be doing, and we weren’t able to accomplish that with our programming. It looked like it was programming that was designed by eighth-graders, and that’s okay because that’s what it was,” said Gorkin. The Scholarship Awards Program, which they are finetuning, will be helmed by both Khalighi and Gorkin and is intended to introduce the prospect of higher education to homeless youth. Further, the program offers mentorships to each recipient as an extra measure to ensure their success. “I want to build this family among young people, and I want them all to be able to come back and support each other,” said Khalighi. “We follow this research concept that higher education can break the cycle of poverty, so we are equipping students with that chance.” They launched the program this year and have nine students, who are either currently enrolled or will be enrolled in some form of higher education program. That could include four year college, trade school, or certification programs. The Chapters Program shares a similar goal to their scholarship program, but instead of creating a pipeline to education, the program allows young students to have leadership roles in their community by offering them foundational support when pursuing advocacy work. “Our chapters are … getting others involved with how housing insecurity affects education in their community,” said Gorkin. “Education is a very different issue in different geographic locations and so getting that conversation started so that people have the tools to learn about it in their community is one of the things that I think is really cool about chapters.” Both programs were launched nationally in April 2020 and, even amid a pandemic, were met with success. The Chapters Program is running strong in 15 states, being run locally by middle and high school students, and the scholarship program had 180 applicants for its first year.. Gorkin is now beginning her second year at Reed College and, after a gap year, Khalighi will attend Harvard in the fall for his freshman year. Although their studies are sure to be challenging, they remain excited about about the newly launched EEqual. “When you give young people an opportunity to use their voice and listen to their ideas, really incredible change can come from it. I think that is what drives a lot of the passion that I know I have, and that I see in our team at large,” said Gorkin. ■ Spring WISH LIST DENVERVOICE.ORG/VENDOR-NEEDS Drop-offs are accepted Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. or schedule a drop-off by emailing program@denvervoice.org. NEW ITEMS NEEDED: Socks Reusable water bottles Sunscreen, toothpaste, deodorant, chapstick Paper products for the office GENTLY USED ITEMS NEEDED: Gloves Umbrellas that can fit into a backpack Ball caps/hats for warm weather Backpacks Ponchos & windbreakers (Men’s L, XL, XXL) August 2021 DENVER VOICE 5
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