About Our Work
HOUSING
Housing is the cornerstone to living a healthy, satisfying life. To that end, we work to match people with suitable housing at one of our housing properties or through partnerships with landlords in the community. Each year, we operate 21 high-quality permanent supportive housing and affordable housing properties and administer nearly 2,300 vouchers, supporting over 4,300 households with housing options in an increasingly unaffordable state.
Most importantly, wrap-around supportive services such as counseling, life skills training, financial literacy, and employment assistance are available at most locations to support the residents to maintain safe and stable housing.
Using the Housing First approach people experiencing homelessness move more quickly off the streets or shelters and into housing. Housing First is a no barrier model that includes rapid access to housing, crisis intervention, and follow-up intensive case management and therapeutic support services to prevent the recurrence of homelessness. We know the Housing First approach helps people experiencing homelessness, but we also know it saves cities money. Read the full Housing First Works report to learn about the cost savings to taxpayers.
HEALTHCARE
We respond to the health needs of adults and children experiencing or at-risk of homelessness through innovative health care at one of five Federally Qualified Health Centers. Stout Street Health Center, the largest and most comprehensive program located in downtown Denver, offers medical and behavioral health care, substance use treatment, dental, vision, and pharmacy services all in one building to reduce as many barriers as possible for over 15,000 patients annually.
Stout Street Health Center serves over 22,000 adults and children each year with compassionate, kind, and professional medical care. Opened in 2014, the 53,192 square-foot Health Center replaced the former Stout Street Clinic, an aging structure that lacked adequate space to effectively meet the complex healthcare needs of an expanding homeless population.
Healthcare can be complicated. At the Coalition, we work to ensure it is as stress-free as possible, as well uniquely meeting the needs of people experiencing homelessness. That means we offer health services regardless of a person’s ability to pay, immigration status, gender identity, ethnicity, or race.
SUPPORT SERVICES
In addition to housing and comprehensive healthcare, we work to provide a robust array of Support Services such as counseling, case management, benefits acquisition, life skills training, employment services, and so much more.
Homelessness is one of the greatest challenges a person can encounter in life and having access to staff who are able to connect individuals with resources for temporary shelter, permanent housing, public assistance programs, and other services can help make the journey easier.
The following are just some of the additional services we offer:
- Assistance with public benefit applications
- Childcare
- Support for families
- Employment services
- Legal referrals and advocacy
- Native American Talking Circles
- Street Outreach and street medicine
- Veterans Programs
ADVOCACY
The Coalition believes integrated services must be coupled with education to build the public’s understanding of the factors that lead to homelessness and advocate for smart, compassionate solutions. Because of the inflated cost of housing and medical care, wage stagnation, and our state’s overburdened safety net, many Coloradans are one disaster away from losing their home. Factors such as domestic violence, mental illness, and addiction disorders may also lead to, or exacerbate, housing insecurity.
We recognize a need for a shift in the way our communities perceive and address homelessness, and we advocate for policies and resources that allow the most vulnerable Coloradans to achieve and maintain housing stability and access to critical health services.
The Coalition is proud to continuously grow and expand to serve the most vulnerable Coloradans. For over 39 years, the Coalition leverages its resources to provide housing, medical treatment, and other services to people experiencing homelessness. Using best practices and innovation when the times calls for it, the Coalition has a portfolio of successful nationally recognized models and programs. The following are some of our most recent work:
Fusion Studios is a unique housing model that used a recently renovated hotel to create 139 studio apartments in just six months, a fraction of the time and expense that building from the ground up. Learn more here >>
Renaissance Veterans Apartments at Fitzsimons is a 60-unit housing property for veterans and their families in Aurora. With case management and support, veterans can live and thrive in this state-of-the-art building. Learn more here >>
The John ParvenskyStout Street Recuperative Care Facility and Renaissance Legacy Lofts opened in early 2023. This “first-of-its kind” property will meet the immediate health care needs of 500 people experiencing homelessness annually through medical respite and recuperative care while also serving 98 residents through permanent supportive housing apartments.. Learn more here >>
Colorado Coalition for the Homeless was established in 1984 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Founded by a group of individuals with a will to act on behalf of people experiencing homelessness in Colorado, they recognized the struggles of people living in poverty and built the Stout Street Clinic. Our founders refused to tolerate the dangers faced by people sleeping in their cars, tents, or on the streets and worked diligently to provide the health services and compassion necessary in a changing world. This value has withstood the test of time with our staff and board members to always put our clients and patients first in all we do.
Over our 39-year history, we have grown as leaders in the development of housing, healthcare, and supportive services for people experiencing homelessness in Colorado. We carved the pathway in sometimes treacherous territory for our most vulnerable citizens who experience chronic homelessness, mental health issues, and severe trauma, and maintained our charge to always work for justice for all people.
We opened our first transitional housing building, the Ruth Goebel House, in 1988, shortly after our founding, when it became apparent homelessness would not disappear anytime soon. Since then, we have opened 20 other properties in the metro Denver area.
In 2015, Stout Street Health Center replaced the Stout Street Clinic in what would become a national-recognized and respected innovation in healthcare. The Health Center fully integrates patient-centered, trauma-informed medical and mental healthcare, substance treatment services, dental and vision care, social services and supportive housing to more fully address the spectrum of problems people experiencing homelessness bring to their medical providers. The Health Center provides integrated health care for over 15,000 men, women, and children at risk of or currently experiencing homelessness each year and continues to add new programs to best care for our patients.
We invite you to see our milestones here.
2023 Eagle Award 2022 Pinnacle Award 2021 Affordable Housing Finance Magazine's Affordable Housing Hall of Fame 2021 NEWSED Civil Rights Award 2021 Charles L. Edson Tax Credit Excellence Award in the Housing for Veterans of the Armed Forces category 2018 Philip W. Brickner National Leadership Award 2017 People's Choice Award 2017 Charles L. Edson Tax Credit Excellence Award Honorable Mention |
2017 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Humanitarian Award
2016 Helping Hands Award of Excellence for Integration and Wellness 2015 Eagle Award 2014-2015 Best New Development Award 2015 Affordable, Merit Winner
|
2015 Children's Champion Award
2015 Award for Excellence 2015 Carle Whitehead Memorial Award 2015 Outstanding Leadership, Collaboration, and Service in Health Care Award 2016 Volunteer Clinician Award |