On Wednesday, February 1st, 2023, the City and County of Denver’s Department of Human Services (DHS) hosted an awareness open house to introduce its new program tagged Pathways to the Integration of New Americans (PINA). The event brought many DHS internal and external stakeholders together and afforded the newly formed PINA team the opportunity to collaborate with their community partners as the program kicked off.

As the name implies, the program provides a multi-faceted pathway to integrate New Americans into the larger American community.  PINA was established by the City and County of Denver and would carry out its activities under the Department of Human Services (DHS) and Resource, Engagement, and Prevention (REP). The primary purpose of PINA is to create opportunities for New Americans to integrate and thrive through collaboration with state, local, and community partners.

Ola Kukoyi, the administrator for the Pathways to the Integration of New Americans (PINA) threw some light on what the program is all about and how it is already helping New Americans (i.e., immigrants, refugees, and their children) to access DHS programs and services. Mrs. Kukoyi stated, “PINA is all set to assist individuals in the New American community to easily access community-targeted resources, services, and programs.”