The seedlings for Hand Up Cooperative were planted in 2008 when an employee of New Belgium Brewery befriended a man who had been homeless and living on the streets for the last couple of years. The New Belgium Brewery employee in an attempt to offer the homeless man a ‘Hand Up’ sought out a job opening for him within the corporation. Before long the homeless man was gainfully employed at New Belgium Brewery, living off the streets and fully self-sufficient.
When Sister Mary Alice Murphy, a longtime advocate for the homeless in Fort Collins, heard of the incident she saw it as an example that with a little compassion a cooperative can be built between the business sector and the homeless community. Inspired by the simple model of businesses giving the homeless community a ‘Hand Up,’ Sister Mary Alice Murphy gathered a team of volunteers consisting of individuals from Fort Collins’ business sector and social workers deeply involved in the homeless community to form the Hand Up Cooperative in 2009.
Since the inception of Sister Mary Alice Murphy’s idea in 2008, the Hand Up Cooperative has evolved into a detail-oriented fully operating program. Under the stewardship of a committee of volunteers the organization created a foundational screening process for all Hand Up participants and created a diverse curriculum to help educate participants in ways to handle varying barriers to employment. Hand Up has also cultivated partnerships with over a dozen social service agencies and local businesses alike. By working together the cooperative strives to provide local businesses with quality employees and to help homeless individuals become self-sufficient.
