Background Statement
Prairie Family Center (PFC) was formed in 1997 to help the at-risk and under-served families in the Kit Carson County area. In 1998 PFC, joined with 20 other family resource centers, created the Family Resource Center Association (FRCA) which is housed in Denver. The FRCA manages the database infrastructure for other member resource centers that belong to the association and Prairie Family Center remains a member to date. FRCA also provides public advocacy, capacity building, and resource development to strengthen our statewide network of family resource centers as they bring help and hope to Colorado families.
On a narrower scope, Prairie Family Center focuses on primarily the Kit Carson County area which translates into the townships of Burlington, Bethune, Stratton, Vona, Seibert and Flagler. However, many times folks that live in nearby counties frequently travel the distance to attend PFC's programs and events.
In 2001, Prairie Family Center received it's IRS-recognized nonprofit status and 501(c)(3) designation. Since then, PFC has help thousands of families and individuals with resources that are scant or very limited in their availability in our area. Prairie Family Center serves a county that has been labeled "Frontier" or "Rural-Frontier". What this describes is an area whose population density is less than 6 people living per square mile. Kit Carson County has a 3.8 population density. (US Census Bureau) To put this into perspective, Denver County has a population density of 3,922! Taking this into consideration, one can imagine the lack of resources available for those families whose needs are higher. They may be aging and need Social Security application assistance or have undergone an injury and are no longer able to work and therefore need to apply for Social Security Disability as a support to their income so they can put food on the table. Or they may be unable to afford proper health insurance due to their income level and need help with Medicaid. Prairie Family Center is primarily a resource & referral organization and therefore, we are able to either help them contact SSDI, SSI or Medicaid and either are granted coverage or denied. If denied, PFC activates our referral network and works to help them gain proper coverage and give them confidence and encouragement that they can be self-sustaining. It is because of this, that Prairie Family Center has been and continues to be so successful with those at-risk living in this area.