How the Mission Ends Homelessness for Families

We are blessed to serve families in a variety of ways at the Mission, most notably through our Bridge program at The Crossing, which gives families and individuals experiencing homelessness a safe place to live while they transition out of their circumstances.

The program offers children and their guardians support through case managers, chaplains, counselors, the Youth Center, and more.  

The Crossing has also become a safe haven for families in more urgent or crisis situations, through our Emergency Family Shelter. 

There was a 100% increase in families waiting for shelter last year, according to Denver Department of Housing Stability.

Emergency Shelter for Those in Critical Need 

We partnered with the City of Denver to provide Emergency Family Shelter for families experiencing urgent shelter needs. While our congregate shelters are for men only, families who qualify for Emergency Family Shelter can find immediate stability at The Crossing, potentially joining the Bridge program if their situation allows.  

We are currently serving 10 families through the Emergency Family Shelter, and to meet the growing need, we are preparing to expand to help even more. “The Crossing has become the site where the City is referring their most vulnerable clients who have trauma or other challenges because of the support that the Mission is able to provide the families through our counselors and the Youth Center,” Chief Programs Officer, Tracy Brooks, said. 

Your Support Helps Families in Critical Need, Like Curtis’s and Lindsay’s

Curtis and His Kids

For many of these families, they come to the Mission with nowhere else to go and may have more immediate needs.

Curtis, whose family is now in our Bridge program, is a single father to Skylar (10), Sophia (eight) and Sebastien (six). Sebastien is diagnosed with nonverbal autism spectrum disorder and the challenges of being a single parent and with one child with more complex needs are what led Curtis to the Mission’s Emergency Family Shelter option. 

This allowed Curtis to receive support and resources for his children that were more urgent, such as various therapies for Sebastien and transportation for his kids to and from school.

“I’m very surprised at how well they’re equipped with handling kids,” Curtis said. “It’s pretty outstanding.” 

Lindsay’s Family of Four

Our Emergency Family Shelter has even brought families indoors who would have otherwise spent a night on the streets. For Lindsay’s family of four, they got the call that a room was available right before winter came. 

“Julie [my case manager] was like, ‘Can you be here Monday?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, two more nights in the car [won’t] kill us.’ And she was like, ‘You’re sleeping in the car? Get here today.’ So we got there that day,” Lindsay said.

“I felt cared for. After being on the streets, it doesn’t feel like many people [care], so it meant a lot.” 

This allowed Lindsay’s family to have a more stable place before officially joining the Mission’s Bridge program and was truly a lifeline when they needed it most. 

The Goal: More Stable Housing

Last year, the Mission helped 627 individuals transition into more stable housing. Many of those were families in the Bridge program.  

As part of the program, participants discuss their next step for finding housing with their case manager on day one. There are educational workshops to support their efforts on topics including budgeting and finances, relationship building, parenting, anger management, and more. 

We all know that there are more people experiencing homelessness than ever before. At the Mission we are striving to not only provide warmth and safety on cold nights but also to help people from becoming homeless in the first place. Your support makes a difference for families experiencing homelessness and helps them get out of homelessness quicker.