Open Soul Foundation exists to extend dignity, hope, and practical support to people in vulnerable circumstances across the United States, Romania, and Ecuador and many other places around the world. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Open Soul partners with organizations whose work reflects a shared conviction: that every person carries inherent worth and deserves the opportunity to flourish. One of those partners is Dry Bones Denver, a street-level ministry that has spent nearly 25 years building deep, lasting relationships with unhoused youth in Colorado’s capital.

This year, Dry Bones launched a pivotal new chapter: the Dry Bones Living Academy. And Open Soul Foundation is honored to be walking alongside them as a sponsor.

The Pride Is Real

It always feels good to complete something. To look back at the distance covered and know it was real. For a group of young adults at Dry Bones Denver, that moment arrived when they wrapped up Phase 1 of the Living Academy — and the pride on their faces said everything words could not.

For some, this may be the first time in years they have received recognition for an accomplishment. In a world that often overlooks unhoused youth, being seen — being celebrated — is itself an act of restoration.

A New Kind of Academy

The Dry Bones Living Academy is not a typical training program. It is a one-year journey of personal development and transformation, unfolding in four phases: Opportunity, Motivate, Empower, and Thrive. Each phase is designed to build confidence and momentum, with stepping-stone “success moments” that celebrate progress along the way.

Small cohorts of six participants ensure personalized attention and a genuine sense of belonging. Participants receive weekly one-on-one coaching, therapeutic support, life-skills curriculum, and experiential learning through field trips and mock interviews. They even receive bi-weekly stipends — compensation for the serious work they are investing in their own lives.

The Academy’s permanent home in the lower level of Dry Bones’ headquarters on Downing Street was designed with intention: a classroom, an office, a cozy living room, and a patio. It feels less like an institution and more like a home — because that is exactly the point. At its heart, the Living Academy is about helping young people create an inner sense of home, the true ending of homelessness.

This is the kind of work Open Soul Foundation was built to support — not quick fixes, but the slow, costly, relational investment that actually changes lives. When Open Soul’s leadership first encountered the Living Academy model, the alignment was immediate: person-centered care, dignity at every step, and a refusal to reduce anyone to a statistic.

Phase 1: Opportunity

Completing Phase 1 means these young people showed up. They chose to walk through the door, to trust the process, and to begin the vulnerable work of building something new. In the context of street-connected youth, showing up consistently is itself a profound act of courage.

The celebration that followed Phase 1 was not ceremonial fluff. It was a community saying to each participant: we see you, we believe in you, and your effort matters. Onward to Phase 2.

Sustaining the Work Together

The Living Academy operates on an annual budget of $250,000. Unlike the previous Purple Door Coffee model that was partially funded by coffee sales, this new approach relies entirely on the community to fund it directly. Through the generosity of supporters and donors, including Open Soul Foundation, Dry Bones Denver is able to sustain this deeply personal, deeply costly work.

Open Soul Foundation is honored to stand with Dry Bones Denver in this pivotal new chapter — investing in the belief that every young person is worth the time, attention, and resources it takes to build a life of resilience, dignity, and hope.

Open Soul Foundation was here.

“If you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as the noonday.” Isaiah 58:10