Listen: Asylum seekers in Denver celebrate new skills as they ...

The quiet gymnasium of St. Catherine’s Church was filled with echoes of applause and excited laughter Tuesday afternoon as children, partners and spouses gathered to celebrate the success of loved ones enrolled in Denver’s WorkReady program.

Jon Ewing, a spokesperson for Mayor Mike Johnston’s office, said WorkReady is a part of the Denver Asylum Seeker’s Program or DASP, the city’s larger effort that began in April to help new immigrants successfully integrate into local communities. The DASP program currently serves more than 800 men, women and children and is funded by the city.

“We have folks here who are electricians. We have folks here who ran businesses. They know how to do these things, but … there are many barriers that are standing in their way to a successful life here,” Ewing said. “We wanted to try to eliminate a few of those.”

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