Hard hats and Cowboy hats: OSU alumni create housing project to help homeless youth

Friday, March 28, 2025

Media Contact: Jordan Bishop | Editor, Department of Brand Management | 405-744-7193 | jordan.bishop@okstate.edu

Two Oklahoma State University alumni are bringing orange power to Colorado Springs with a housing project to serve homeless youth. 

Wayne Bland, a 1975 OSU agriculture economics graduate, and Nick Emenhiser, a 2012 geography and political science graduate, have partnered to create The Launchpad, a supportive housing project planning to open in April that aims to serve youth who are experiencing homelessness or even exiting the foster care system. Bland, a retired banker, currently serves on the Board of Directors for The Place, a nonprofit organization in Colorado Springs that serves homeless youth. He is also the project liaison for the organization. Emenhiser is the development director for the owner and developer, Cohen-Esrey.

“Youth will have a case manager that visits with them and helps them set a path for their future,” Bland said. “And they get to create that. We don't have a seven-step or a 12-step program on how they can move on to permanency, but what you find out about the youth is that they don't see themselves as homeless. They see themselves as being in a situation, and they just need someone or something to help them stabilize so they can move forward. Over half of our youth list our staff as their emergency contact number, so we have a tremendous trust with them.”

Bland and Emenhiser view the Launchpad as more than a housing project; it reflects the values they developed at OSU.

“It has to do with community extension and community service,” Emenhiser said. “And those are at the forefront of Cowboy values.”

For Bland, his time at OSU reinforced the principles he learned growing up in Pawnee, Oklahoma. 

“From an early age, it was just giving back and really about community,” Bland said. “I grew up with the philosophy that it’s your obligation to help your neighbor because tornadoes are indiscriminate, and it could be your house.”

The Launchpad building features a distinct orange exterior that reflects the Colorado sunset and the alma mater of its creators. It is about a mile from the Garden of the Gods national landmark, which complements the design with its natural reddish-orange rocks. 

What sets The Launchpad apart is its holistic approach to supporting homeless youth. Residents can participate in job readiness training, receive assistance building resumes, access mental health counseling, consult with health clinicians and develop essential life skills.

“We’ll have yoga classes,” Bland said. “We’ll have volunteers come in and teach life skills. It's things that children or youth who haven't been exposed to certain experiences don't know. You know, it's those things that you and I grew up understanding or being taught about.”

The project has formed partnerships with local businesses, such as Ace Hardware and King Soopers, to provide job opportunities for the youth.

“Every single one of them said we’d love to employ the youth,” Bland said. 

In addition to employment, The Launchpad is creating partnerships with community organizations to provide services such as equine therapy and proposed fire mitigation training. The local fire marshal, Brett Lacey, is also an OSU grad. 

This project represents a collaboration between public, private, and nonprofit investment through the Low-Income Tax Credit program, which was created during the Reagan administration. 

"It's a wonderful case of private, public and nonprofit investment, and it works," Bland said. "When we went to closing on this transaction, there were 32 people on the telephone. The layers of financing and investment and all of that is pretty intricate."

Emenhiser brings expertise in navigating these finances as part of Cohen-Esrey's nationwide affordable housing initiative that extends to 14 states.

"We're involved in developing very specialized housing for people experiencing homelessness because it's the right thing to do," Emenhiser said. "It's the lowest end of the housing transect where there is the highest amount of need."

Beyond providing housing, The Launchpad aims to serve as a launching point for youth to build a stable future. The building’s south face will feature a mural by artist Thomas "Detour" Evans that shows a swarm of butterflies, a metaphor for the transformation the program hopes to guide the youth through.

"It's butterflies coming out, and the youth will help paint those individual butterflies," Bland said. "It's kind of a metamorphosis from the cocoon to the worm, to being able to take flight and go on your own."

The project has grown from the involvement of OSU alumni in many different roles, including James Neeld, the senior partner legal counsel on the project, and David Davis, internal director of architectural services for Cohen-Esrey. Other people involved include Randy Helms, Colorado Springs city council president, and Lacey, the fire marshal. Bill Hornbostel, another OSU grad, is one of the original Board members and a founder of the nonprofit’s predecessor.

"I've actually never worked on a project that's had this many OSU alumni on it in various different capacities," Emenhiser said. "It's really interesting to see how OSU alumni have, just by happenstance, seems to have gravitated toward this one particularly community-oriented housing project."

Former OSU football star Terry Miller, whose name appears on the Ring of Fame at Boone Pickens Stadium, has also been asked to help with awareness and fundraising for The Launchpad. Miller grew up in Colorado Springs before attending OSU, where he became a two-time All-American before playing for the Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks.

"The reach for Oklahoma State is really deep here in the community," Bland said.

Story By: Mak Vandruff | makenzie.vandruff@okstate.edu