Third Way Center

About Third Way Center

Our Mission To offer truth and hope to the most vulnerable adolescents and their families with complex mental health issues, by helping them work towards trauma resolution and enabling them to become productive members of society. Our History In 1970, Hildegard Messenbaugh, MD - a noted Denver psychiatrist at the University of Colorado Medical Center - was approached by concerned members of the community about the growing number of adolescents living on the streets. Many of these young people fled turbulent and traumatic family situations, had trouble with the law, or had recently left other institutional settings. With her guidance and the support of the Denver community, an alternative to homelessness and incarceration for troubled youth was formed. This third way grew from one shelter for troubled teens to a continuum of services, offering a path to healing and wholeness through: A continuum of care in a home-like residential setting at 5 metro Denver locations Accurate diagnosis and intensive individual, family and group therapy Two state-approved alternative high schools Life skills training Job training and vocational education Parenting skills training Emancipation support