1882
Florence Crittenton was four years old when she died of scarlet fever in New York City.
1883
Devastated by her death, her father Charles Crittenton established the Florence Crittenton Mission in New York City to provide single women, often pregnant or parenting, with housing and workforce skills – usually sewing – to support themselves. He partnered with Dr. Kate Waller Barrett and Franklin B. Waterman to expand the network of homes.
1893
Mr. Crittenton believed women across the nation should have equal opportunities. He outfitted a train car to live on and spent over a decade traveling across the United States with seed money for new Florence Crittenton Missions. Denver was one of the first five homes outside of New York City. It opened in Denver at 3138 Lawrence Street, and later moved to 2312 Champa Street.
1898
Charles Crittenton believed that while all local Florence Crittenton Missions needed to have the independence to serve their community as they saw fit, national-level advocacy would be important to preserving the mission. A special act of Congress in 1898, signed by President McKinley, granted a national charter in perpetuity to the National Florence Crittenton Mission, and was the first U.S. national charter ever given to a charitable organization. Florence Crittenton Services was one of the four original Denver agencies to be funded by Mile High United Way.
1899
The Florence Crittenton Home was incorporated in Colorado and purchased the building located at 4901 West Colfax Avenue. To accommodate the needs for increased housing, the Home eventually built a three-story apartment building behind the original home.
1940-1981
In the middle part of the 20th century, the Florence Crittenton Home operated exclusively as a maternity home for pregnant women. Most of the women gave birth at the Home in a hospital ward set up on the third floor. The hospital was known as the Mary Donaldson Hospital, and attending physicians and nurses from hospitals and university programs around the city staffed it. The Home provided tutors and teachers so women who hadn’t completed school could continue their education, and social workers for all. As unintended pregnancies declined throughout the 1970s, the Home saw a dramatic decrease in the number of women seeking support, and eventually sold the home and apartment building to Volunteers of America in 1981 to serve as transitional housing for unhoused individuals.
1984
Florence Crittenton Services and Denver Public Schools partnered to provide high school academics to pregnant and parenting teens, starting with a single classroom in Baker Middle School, now the Denver International School. The program was originally called the Teen Parent Education Network (TPEN). Debbie Gilboy was its first director and Dorotha Hogue was the first teacher. During the 1980s and 1990s, the school moved from location to location, including a home at 18th and Gaylord, Greenlee Elementary School, the Boettcher School, and finally, to Decatur Place, now part of Mercy Housing.
2001
Florence Crittenton Services purchased the building at 96 South Zuni Street, which provided a dedicated space for an expanded Early Childhood Education Center and Student and Family Support Program.
2011
The Class of 2011 was the first class to receive diplomas from Florence Crittenton High School. Prior graduating classes returned to their home schools to receive their diplomas.
2012
Voters from the City and County of Denver approved the 2012 Denver Public Schools General Bond, which funded the construction of a new Florence Crittenton High School building.
2013
Florence Crittenton Services launched the Building for Teen Family Success Capital Campaign, which funded the expansion of the Early Childhood Education Center, the Student and Family Support Program, three outdoor playground for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, and the Alethia E. Morgan, MD Health Center, the first school-based health center in Colorado to provide both obstetric and pediatric care.
2015
The new and expanded Florence Crittenton Campus opened.
2018
Florence Crittenton Services celebrated 125 years of serving women and children in Denver, and launched the Dorotha Hogue Endowment Fund to provide continued financial security and ensure we continue to support teen mothers and their children for generations to come. In addition, the Student and Family Support Program launched the Transitions program to continue providing support to alumni up to age 24 and providing pathways to post-secondary education and employment beyond high school graduation.
