Expanding the Circle of Care at El Alma Colectiva
Early childhood and motherhood are often focused on growth milestones, whether physical, mental, emotional, or social. Today, the Alma Project for Maternal Mental Health is happy to announce that their organizational growth and impact in the community has led to the development of El Alma Colectiva, a new collaborative campus that will serve Southwest Denver families on the same site Alma currently operates from.
“We have been listening, and finally we are in a position to create a space that our community has been asking for,” says Solangel Ramos, Alma program director. “The people in our community trust us—they love to be here, and now we can provide them even more space.”
With construction scheduled to begin in spring 2027, the campus significantly increases Alma’s physical footprint by including five offices for staff and team members, a community kitchen, two classrooms for convening Alma Kids and Circle of Security groups, a private lactation room, a garage for diaper and clothing distribution, and a 10-spot parking lot.
"The moms are going to love our new place because it will be the same Alma experience, but bigger,” says Ramos.
Five additional offices are included in the building for mental health service provider La Cocina. La Cocina founder and CEO Janina Fariña calls El Alma Colectiva an “amazing collaboration between Lifespan Local and La Cocina,” due to its capacity to serve women and families seeking perinatal, birthing, postpartum, and early childhood care, all in one space. “Our hope is to create a collaborative healing space where the community has the voice and power to make decisions and choices for what they want to see born here,” she says.
The campus’s spatial design emphasizes functionality as well as cultural belonging. Its one-story architectural design is meant to fit in with the existing streetscape and neighborhood context. The building has a semicircular layout, with a central plaza that offers a relaxing, convivial outdoor space.
