Preventing Homelessness, One Family at a Time

Meet Our First Prevention Family

When you meet Maddix—a joyful eight-year-old whose laughter and bubbly personality fill any room—you would never guess the battles he’s fought.

Born with complex heart conditions, Maddix has undergone more than 80 medical procedures in his young life. He was born with a heart nearly three times the size it should be, placing enormous strain on his lungs and other organs.

While he has received extensive medical care, he has not yet qualified for a heart transplant. For now, doctors estimate his life expectancy may only reach his late teens.

Yet those who know him best—his family, teachers and friends—say he is one of the strongest, most positive and “full of life” kids you’ll meet.

“He is the funniest, silliest, most talkative little boy you’ll ever meet,” said Audrianna, Maddix’s mom. “You would never know how sick he is by talking to him or looking at him. He’s very creative, very active.”

“He is unstoppable,” added Cole, Maddix’s dad. “No matter the illness, he hasn’t let anything stand in his way.”

Through every medical challenge, Maddix has one constant source of strength: his family. Audrianna and Cole are devoted parents to Maddix and their oldest son Jayden (12). Both serve as Maddix’s full-time caregivers, providing more than 115 hours of care each week, ensuring he receives the support he needs to thrive.

Jayden, who is living with autism spectrum disorder, is a protective older brother.

“We couldn’t have asked for a better big brother,” Audrianna said. “When it comes to an emergency, Jayden jumps into action very quickly.”

When Everything Changed

In September 2025, the family received devastating news: the right side of Maddix’s heart was beginning to fail. He needed another high-risk, open-heart surgery, requiring weeks in the hospital.

A hospital stay is emotionally draining, and for Audrianna and Cole, it also threatened their home. Because they are paid caregivers for Maddix, their income stops when he is admitted, with the hospital becoming his legal caregiver.

“Of anything that I’ve ever dealt with, that was honestly one of the scariest,” Cole said.

“We held it together until he got wheeled into the OR,” Audrianna recalled. “Then we both kind of collapsed. We knew there was a high chance we wouldn’t see our son alive again.”

Suddenly, the family faced an impossible situation: how to keep their home while fighting for their son’s life. They applied for help from multiple organizations—but repeatedly fell just short. One program required families to live at least 60 miles from the hospital to qualify for travel assistance. Their home was 58.2 miles away.

Determined, Audrianna even printed T-shirts at home featuring Maddix’s favorite character, Baymax from Big Hero 6, with a QR code linking to the family’s GoFundMe.

“I don’t care if our phones get shut off or if I go without a meal,” she said through tears. “I just want to make sure we have a home for the boys to return to.”

At a moment when hope felt out of reach, Denver Rescue Mission’s newly-launched Prevention program stepped in. Audrianna and Cole’s family became the first family served through the pilot program, which provides financial assistance and case management to help families stay housed and avoid homelessness altogether.

“Once you get evicted, that’s on your record and doesn’t go away,” explained Prevention Case Manager, Nicole Reichelderfer. “You start struggling to get into places, paying extra deposits, paying extra rent. You also gain stress and it just spirals from there.”

The Prevention program partners closely with local schools in Denver and Northern Colorado, where teachers and staff often notice early warning signs that a family may be struggling.

“Schools hear stories every day: a kid shows up and says, ‘I had to sleep at my grandma’s last night,’ or ‘Our lights got turned off,’” Nicole said. “We rely on teachers, counselors, cafeteria staff—anyone who hears these difficult stories—to pass it upstream so families can get help.”

When Maddix’s school learned about his own family’s situation, they quickly reached out.

“They were the perfect family because they had applied to so many different programs and missed the criteria just barely,” Nicole said. “All these layers were adding up, which was going to lead to them being potentially unhoused.”

The Mission quickly helped secure the assistance the family needed. Instead of worrying about eviction notices, Audrianna and Cole could focus on being with Maddix.

“It saved us. It saved us a lot of headaches, heartaches, struggles, and stress during an already incredibly stressful time,” Audrianna said.

Resilience & Hope

Nicole has seen a commonality in every family served through Prevention: resilience.

“I wouldn’t say there is such a thing as a typical family that we help—everybody’s situation is different,” Nicole said. “What makes every family extraordinary is their resiliency.”

Today, Maddix continues to fight with courage and determination. His future remains uncertain, but one thing is clear: his family will face whatever comes next, together.

Thanks to the support of their community—and the Mission’s Prevention program—this family now has one less burden to carry and one safe place to come home to.

“Denver Rescue Mission went above and beyond anything that we could have expected,” Cole said.

Audrianna added, “They told us from the get-go that they were going to go through everything, with no guarantees. But just the fact that they were willing to listen and help us pay for as much as they possibly could was more than we could have ever asked for.”

Download Full Newsletter

1. Meet Our First Prevention Family
2. The Mission in My Words: Nicole Reichelderfer, Prevention Case Manager
3. Letter From Our CEO

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