Colorado Coalition for the Homeless answers call to solve Denver homelessness

Kelsie Shelby, left, an EMT and medical assistant, and Dr. Debra Preller offer a client treatment inside the green medical suite at the Stout Street Health Center on October 12, 2023, in Denver. (Photo By Kathryn Scott/Special to The Denver Post)

By Katie Langford | klangford@denverpost.com | The Denver Post

PUBLISHED: October 29, 2023 at 6:00 a.m. | UPDATED: November 2, 2023 at 3:52 p.m.

For nearly 40 years, Colorado Coalition for the Homeless employees have worked to prevent and solve homelessness by providing housing, health care and support services to tens of thousands of people every year.

So the increased focus and fervor for homelessness and housing issues by city and state officials is appreciated, if a little delayed.

“What I will say is, 25 or 30 years ago, this issue was very urgent to us,” said Cathy Alderman, chief communications and public policy officer for Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. “It’s our mission to provide lasting solutions for homelessness, and what we haven’t seen is the city, state and federal government really recognize the crisis that we were living with every single day.”

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That’s starting to change, Alderman said, through efforts such as Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s emphasis on housing and homelessness and the state making one-time financial investments.

“We’re seeing people say, ‘We need to do all of this stuff right now,’ and we agree,” Alderman said. “We agree if we had started doing all of this stuff right now, 25 years ago, we might not have the crisis we have today.”

The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless has both a broad and deep reach on the issues facing people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, serving people across a variety of programs.

The organization’s 53,000-square-foot Stout Street Health Center provides a full range of health care to more than 22,000 people every year. The center provides all services in the same building, so patients can receive primary care, see a dentist, go to the eye clinic and treat mental health and substance use disorders in the same place and often during the same visit.

The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless provides housing through more than 2,000 units, ranging from studio apartments to townhomes, and helped more than 4,300 households find housing in the last year.

And then there’s the Fort Lyon Recovery Program, which offers housing and support for people recovering from substance use disorders for up to two years; the Renaissance Children’s Center, which provides care for children ranging from infants through school-aged; and additional programs to support Native Americans, veterans and people living in rural areas.

The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless also regularly collaborates with organizations like Urban Peak, which serves young people experiencing homelessness.

Urban Peak President Christina Carlson said the coalition has been a relentless advocate for people experiencing homelessness.

“As they’ve grown over the years, their impact has grown and they are cutting edge at knowing what is working locally and nationally and are such leaders in this space,” Carlson said.

The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless will mark its 40th year in 2024 and has an eye on expanding services even further, Alderman said.

That includes new housing options, such as remodeling the former Clarion Hotel at 200 W. 48th Ave. to turn it into Renewal Village, a 216-unit transitional and supportive housing facility.

While a large part of the coalition’s funding comes from federal, state and local governments, individual donations are particularly useful because they don’t come with the same requirements and restrictions, Alderman said.

“It helps us launch new initiatives and purchase new buildings. It helps us build up reserves and have cash on hand to take advantage of opportunities government funding doesn’t allow,” Alderman said.

It also helps to know that the community supports the work of coalition, Alderman said.

“I hope we can use this new energy and resources to make meaningful change, to really start resolving homelessness in a meaningful way and working to prevent people from falling into the cycle of homelessness,” she said. “It’s going to take all of us screaming out that urgency, because people are dying outside, and to me, that’s not the society and community we want to live in.”