A new start
“I had nothing, no car, no home, nothing. I came on a bus.”
Kelly Rice and her daughter had nothing when their bus pulled into Greeley. Escaping from domestic violence in another state, Kelly was starting over. That’s when a friend told her about Greeley Transitional House.
The shelter was established in 1985 in response to community concerns for people temporarily displaced because of job loss, foreclosure, domestic violence, unexpected medical bills, lack of affordable housing or other reasons.
Rice stayed in the shelter for about six weeks. Now she has a job, a driver’s license and is renting her own home.
Part of the qualifications for entry into Greeley Transitional House includes a demonstrable desire to find independent housing. Residents are given daily chores and a curfew. The shelter also provides life skills counseling, including information on nutrition and credit, parenting classes and one-on-one meetings with a case manager.
“When my daughter needed new clothes, Greeley Transitional House made sure she had them,” Rice said. “If I needed clothes for job interviews, I had them. They really did take care of me.”
The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless funds Greeley Transition House’s transitional housing program through a grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. It is one of the 14 homeless service provider programs that the Coalition supports in small cities and towns across the state.
(This profile is excerpted from "
Woman says Greeley Transitional House helped her start over
" an article by Reporter Ashley Keesis-Wood, Windsor Beacon.)