Meet Imani Latif | Executive Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Imani Latif and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Imani, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
The thought process behind It Takes a Village included community input, need and empathy. I’ve worked in the HIV field since the height of the epidemic in NYC. I came to Colorado in 1994 and continued this work in other venues. What I was not seeing was a place where anyone could come for care or prevention services and feel welcomed while receiving help in a respectful environment and with staff who looked like them. I started It Takes a Village with the input of the community and established a village where people, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, legal status, history of incarceration, etc. feel at home and valued.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
What sets It Takes a Village apart from others is the care, professionalism and empathy exhibited by our staff. People come to us because they know they won’t have to wait weeks for an intake. We address the things in a person’s life that are most important to them, along with their health. Our staff includes people of all races, people who speak different languages, and people who have the expertise and to help a person overcome the barriers in their lives. It was not easy to get to 22 years of providing services, but when you involve community in developing programming, that’s what contributes to success. I’ve learned that people, even those facing life threatening barriers, will rise to the occasion if they know people care and if they are heard.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If someone were visiting the Denver metro area,including Aurora, where we are located, I would take them to Cuba Cuba for dinner, the Denver Zoo, a Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Theatre performance, the Pikine Food Truck (Senegalese food) for lunch, and Cafe Paprika for amazing Moroccan food.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to honor three people without whom It Takes a Village would not be what it is. They are my husband Hassan Latif who I sat across visiting rooms in prison with, writing out my plans for a nonprofit and receiving support and encouragement; Carol Lease, my mentor and founder of The Empowerment Program, a non profit for women who are transitioning from incarceration or trading sex for money. Carol spent so many hours working with me and helping me to get started; and my son, Sama, who struggled with me and sacrificed in the organization’s lean days.

Website: https://Www.ittakesavillagecolorado.org

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