I am contacting you in hopes that you would be willing to take some time to help direct me as it seems I am reaching one dead-end after another on my own. My husband and I have unfortunately been homeless since November 2021 when we lost our jobs due to Covid and then lost our vehicle and townhome as a result. Prior to losing our townhome, we had always worked to provide for ourselves and often worked two jobs. As stressful as working two full time jobs could be, I miss that type of stress more than I can express. I had no experience or understanding of how incredibly difficult being homeless would be and how nearly impossible it would be to climb out of this hole that we have found ourselves stuck in and seemingly falling deeper into. Before Covid, I could never have even imagined us being homeless and on the streets. My husband and I are both college educated and have always been hard workers. We are both eager to get back to enjoying each other’s company and back to providing for ourselves as contributing members of society. We both started a MAT program in June and have successfully stopped using substances which I previously thought could never happen while still being homeless, but together we did it. We are more than willing to put in the work to improve our situation, even while it can feel nearly impossible with no where to sleep safely, no where to store your belongings securely, and no where to regularly bathe yourself and launder your clothing. We are still fighting each day to continue to stay clean and to better our future, but theres seemingly no path to housing without the help of a case manager and their referrals. Why are these services unavailable to us in a city that is supposed to be solving homelessness and housing people by the thousands?
We were fortunate enough to be able to stay at Salvation Army’s Pallet Homes at 33rd and Peoria in late 2023 for 6 months were our case manager did the Coordinated Entry Assessment/ VI SPDAT with us and said that our results scored as high priority on the vulnerability index. Our case manager quit not long before our stay there ended and after that the location closed entirely. We were told we would be passed on to another case manager who would reach out but no contact ever happened. I have contacted every agency I could find that works with the homeless in Colorado to try to get a case manager with absolutely no luck so far. Examples including (but not limited to): Coalition for the Homeless suggests the online sign up weekly in which they randomly select 15 people, yet after signing up for going on 27 weeks now, we have still not been selected somehow. Salvation Army’s Connection Center claims they are only taking new clients that are families, not individuals or couples. Yet we personally know many individuals who currently have a case manager with Salvation Army and that is how they were referred to the homeless hotels or tiny villages where they currently live. I went with a friend (who’s current case manager is with Salvation Army) for her check in at Comfort Inn 2 weeks ago in hopes of being able to speak to someone about services and was turned away at the door there as well. St Francis returned our call, but only to let us know that they currently do not have any case managers and are working to hire some as soon as possible. I have been following up with them weekly to see if that has changed, and so far it remains the same situation. Of the other agencies that I recently reached out to, one in Boulder informed me that our files are in the OneHome system but were inactive since we do not have a case manager currently meaning that we wouldn’t even be entered in the lotteries and wouldn’t be eligible for the vouchers that are housing other people currently. Its been very discouraging to say the least and I am not sure what else to do or where else to turn at this point, so I am desperately reaching out to you in hopes that you could help us.
Its been a terribly long 4 years and we are tired and desperate. With another winter here, its become even more stressful as we are stuck between freezing outside or risking legal consequences for staying in vacant apartments and buildings overnight. This winter is proving to be more difficult than the ones before due to not having the encampments for warmth and safety. There is no where for us to literally just “be” or exist, and certainly no where for us to rest.
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