The Colorado Springs Gazette final

City Hope shelter working to place families in permanent housing

Shelter trying to close since August

BY DEBBIE KELLEY debbie.kelley@gazette.com

A Colorado Springs homeless shelter for families that has been trying to close since August is continuing to work on getting remaining families placed into subsidized housing programs.

Emergency grant funding from several sources is enabling City Hope to remain open through January, said Mark Wester, executive director of Comcor, a nonprofit that runs programs for rehabilitating offenders.

The organization opened the City Hope family shelter in February of this year but said it would close Aug. 30, as grant money was running out.

Three families are leaving in the next week for permanent apartments, Wester said.

Another five families — who have vouchers for permanent housing — are waiting for apartment units to open, he said.

“A lot of times, our families get vouchers and because

there are not enough available apartments that take vouchers because there’s such a tight market, they often have to wait 60 to 90 days,” he said. “It’s pretty challenging.”

Since Sept. 1, 10 families from the 20-family program have obtained permanent housing, Wester said.

The 25-unit City Hope also had provided respite beds for convalescing and COVID-INfected homeless people.

But some residents have complained that the living conditions at the former motel on North Nevada Avenue are insufficient, with a lack of adequate hot water, food and case management.

Community activist Melissa Hall said she saw appeals for assistance on social media and has delivered gas cards and food to residents in recent weeks.

“Families were promised they would receive connections, long-term housing, vouchers and case workers, but they’re not receiving the care they should,” she said.

Wester said calls regarding water heaters and HVAC maintenance have been “promptly addressed as needed by our facilities staff.”

“Heat, water and electricity are available, and we have

“The goal is to make sure these folks have hot water, accessible healthy food, access to the community kitchen and wraparound care.” Melissa Hall, activist

ongoing support for our families,” he said. “We’re doing everything in our power to place our remaining families in permanent housing.”

City Hope continues to receive requests for housing families, Wester said, but is not accepting new people, as it works to locate housing for those still staying on the property.

“The bottom line those families should have gotten their vouchers expedited,” said Hall. “The goal is to make sure these folks have hot water, accessible healthy food, access to the community kitchen and wraparound care.”

Wester said remaining clients are receiving such services and that complaints have come primarily from a family that was removed from the program because they weren’t complying with the goal of finding permanent housing and they were disruptive the complex, he said.

“We worked with this client to pursue housing for a number of months until it became clear they were not interested in moving to any options offered,” Wester said.

Some of the families still living at City Hope came from another shelter, Family Promise, which closed in July.

“I’m pleased we are actually ending homelessness for the City Hope families at this point in their lives, rather than transferring them to another shelter,” Wester said.

Another shelter in town, the Salvation Army’s R.J. Montgomery Center, is converting to a families-only model with room for 30 homeless families to have individual living quarters. at

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2022-12-03T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-12-03T08:00:00.0000000Z

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The Gazette, Colorado Springs