Second Colorado Springs homeless shelter for families to close, another aims to change to meet need

Aug. 18—On the heels of the July 30 closure of Family Promise, Colorado Springs' only dedicated emergency shelter for homeless families, another shelter catering to homeless families, City Hope, will close Aug. 30, according to Mark Wester, executive director of ComCor Inc., which opened the shelter six months ago.

That will leave El Paso County with one option for parents with minor children to secure urgent and free overnight accommodations: the R.J. Montgomery Center.

Plans have been in the works since June for the Salvation Army, which owns R.J. Montgomery, to convert its shelter from serving all ages of homeless to only accepting families by year-end, said Capt. Doug Hanson, who leads the local Salvation Army chapter.

The expansion, details of which are still developing, will double the number of families accommodated to 30, he said. Upcoming interior remodeling will enable families to stay together in one unit, Hanson said, and not be separated, as is the current policy.

Also, families will receive case management with the goal of more quickly moving them into stable housing, he said.

Single men and women who have used R.J. Montgomery will be referred to Springs Rescue Mission, the city's largest homeless shelter, when the new model debuts, probably in December.

"We've been forecasting this as a major issue in the homeless population, that families were being underserved, and we stand poised to be the solution," Hanson said.

The organization also is in the early stages of plans to build a new family shelter, he said.

In the meantime, families and employees are upset by the impending loss of City Hope and say they think more could have been done to save it.

"It's wrong to shut down a perfectly good program that's been helping families become better by giving us the resources that are necessary to take care of our children," said Justice Lord, who has two children and has been living at City Hope since May.

The three-pronged City Hope took over in August 2021 a COVID isolation and recovery center for homeless people, which the city of Colorado Springs had been running out of the City Auditorium for more than two years during the pandemic.

The 25-unit City Hope on North Nevada Avenue also has provided respite beds for convalescing homeless people. The organization opened the family shelter portion in February.

Some clients, including Lord, recently moved from the now-shuttered Family Promise shelter to City Hope, only to learn that they again would be out of housing.

"Colorado is supposed to be a family-oriented state, and I'm not seeing it in its full capacity," Lord said.

Federal COVID-relief money to fund City Hope will be exhausted Aug. 31, Wester said, adding that he's been pursuing other funding since January.

"I'm still working on that, but so far have yet to identify alternative or sustainable funding that would go beyond the COVID grant," Wester said.

The city of Colorado Springs also is searching for additional funding to keep the COVID isolation and recovery center open at ComCor, said Steve Posey, community development manager.

"The city is working closely with ComCor to explore options that will allow coronavirus sheltering to continue at City Hope beyond Aug. 31," Posey said. "We're working with the governor's office, the division of housing and the Department of Local Affairs to beat the bushes and try to get some bridge funding."

However, he said, "at this time, alternate sources of funding remain to be identified."

While City Hope was 100% grant-funded, costs were more than the grant provided, Wester said. He cites higher-than-expected utilization as the main reason.

The $627,481.44 grant covered $55,000 a month, while expenses ran $90,000 a month, he said, with 62% used to pay staff.

Wester said his goal was to move the program's 10 staff members into other jobs in the ComCor system. But about half resigned on Thursday.

Staff have been working on finding permanent housing for the 20 families, which included 34 minors, currently enrolled in the 60-day City Hope program.

Some families have been living at the complex for longer, though. Lord said clients haven't received services that were promised, including mental health support, regular contact with a caseworker, child care, an on-site pediatrician and others.

Wester said City Hope was meant to be transitional housing and has provided caseworkers and held residents accountable with job searches and other steps to move into permanent housing.

Resident Lisa West, a cancer survivor whose husband was murdered in Dorchester Park, moved with her children and grandchildren from Family Promise to City Hope a week before being told it was closing.

"Some of us are here because of a family situation, not because of drugs or alcohol," she said. "I worked my whole life, and now I can't because of medical reasons. This is not something I would choose for anybody."

The 45-year-old ComCor Inc. operates programs for people exiting prison or instead of spending time behind bars. City Hope was the nonprofit organization's first foray into sheltering the homeless population, Wester said.

"We're proud of what we accomplished, serving 466 people in total for the three programs in the past year, and working on getting families into more permanent housing, which has been the mission," he said.

Five families were placed last week, and five more this week, Wester said. The goal is to find housing for everyone, he said.

A total of 74 City Hope clients are affected, said Grace Staudenmaier, one of the employees who quit Thursday.

She and a co-worker started an online fundraiser, https://gofund.me/6e2509a8, to help families pay for rental application fees, moving costs, security deposits, rent or possibly motel rooms.

"Everybody's scrambling," she said. "Yesterday we called 38 places, and not one had a placement available under six months. Waitlists are so long, it's impossible to find immediate help.

"We have individuals with terminal cancer, blind people, and you can't have them on the streets."

Resident Micheal Newton, 55, is doing chemo treatments for cancer.

"They're trying to get me in a different place," he said. "It was a blessing they let me stay here."

The fundraising goal is $50,000, Staudenmaier said.

"The most affordable one-bedroom we can find outside of affordable housing is $900 a month," she said. "It's been hard to figure out budgets with low wages, inflation and crazy waitlists."

A protest calling for better resources for the homeless will be held from noon to 3 p.m. on Friday at Acacia Park,115 E. Platte Ave.

"It takes time (to overcome homelessness), and you have to realize somewhere inside yourself you can do it," said City Hope resident Elizabeth Trujillo. "Without places like this, it's real hard."

A rapid-rehousing voucher is enabling Trujillo and her 13-year-old daughter to get an apartment — Trujillo's first real home in 10 years.

"This place really is a city of hope," she said. "Because of these people, we won't be living in a tent."

Posey said city officials intend to inventory Colorado Springs' facilities and services for the homeless population, identify gaps and develop a strategic plan.

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