About FIRC

About FIRC

Our Mission

Opening doors and unleashing our community’s potential

Our Vision

A diverse and thriving community

Our History

2000

The Census revealed a 700% increase in the immigrant population in Summit County

This new information showed an important and urgent need for education and awareness to help the community adapt to the changes in the community’s population. Summit County Government began a six-month planning process to address these new needs; 28 community members met monthly to strategize and plan the development of a diversity center. It became obvious to the planning team that the FIRC shared many of the same goals and objectives as the diversity planning team. As a result, FRC board members and the diversity planning team worked together to recreate the goals and mission for the newly named Family & Intercultural Resource Center (FIRC).

2000

2003

FIRC moved to new offices in Dillon, Colorado

to share a location with Court Appointed Special Advocates, Early Childhood Options, and Summit County Head Start, encouraging collaboration with these agencies. Since then, FIRC has improved and broadened family services expanded food bank space and thrift store retail space, and continued to strengthen its staff to effectively meet the needs of Summit County.

2003

2008

After a community health assessment and community health strategic plan were completed,

FIRC was asked to address the problem of “access to health”. In addition, research-based parenting classes have also been identified as lacking in Summit County by the Parenting Education and Strategic Planning group made up of various agencies whose mission is to safeguard children. As a result, FIRC is now dedicated to identifying community partners in an effort to address the numerous uninsured and underinsured residents in Summit County as well as providing curriculum-based parenting classes to all Summit County residents.

2008

2014

FIRC moved into purchased office space in Silverthorne.

The new space provides classroom and childcare space, a teaching kitchen, food bank, and offices for 25 staff. The new office allows FIRC to offer many more classes for the community and support for the programs. FIRC continues to be a community leader in the area of cultural integration, resource and referral services, emergency services, family support, and early childhood development.

2014

2016

FIRC launches new mental health initiative

In 2016, a string of suicides and loss of a prominent community member then spurred the launch of a mental health initiative to prevent suicide, reduce stigma, and coordinate and strengthen our local mental health continuum. The fledgling mental health initiative needed a well-established agency in which to incubate, and the community chose FIRC to nurture and grow what would soon become “Building Hope”. People working toward stability in their mental health often benefit from food, housing, healthcare navigation, and parenting support, so the MHN program fits well into the continuum of resources FIRC offers.

2016

2017

FIRC launches the ALMA Peer Mental Health program

The 2017 Summit County community health assessment revealed that residents with low-income, especially those who do not speak English, faced disparate levels of poor mental health and a lower quality of life. To provide culturally and linguistically conscious mental health care for Spanish speakers, FIRC launched the ALMA Peer Mental Health program.

2017

2020

COVID 19

In 2020, the world was turned upside down by the pandemic, leading FIRC to realize just how much the organizations served as the community’s safety net. Food, housing, community education, and mental health resources became critical needs that FIRC and Building Hope addressed. Demand for the organization’s overall services grew by 2.5 %. FIRC’s no-cost Community Food Markets have experienced an increase of over 600% since 2019 and demand is not experiencing a decline post-pandemic; instead demand continues to grow.

2020

2023

FIRC helps lead community health Improvement Plan

As Summit County created its 2023-2028 Community Health Improvement Plan, FIRC and Building Hope were two of three local organizations given the responsibility of leading efforts in improving economic livability and mental health for the region.

2023

2024

FIRC is here to meet the community’s needs

Today, FIRC remains the community’s one stop shop for meeting basic needs. If FIRC doesn’t offer the resource someone needs, the organization connects the individuals to who does. More than a third of Summit County residents utilize FIRC’s financial empowerment, food access, community health, peer support and referral services.

2024

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