10-Yr Anniversary of Boulder Shelter for the Homeless facility

Press Release from Boulder Shelter for the Homeless

Contact:           Travis Railey

                        Development Director

                        Boulder Shelter for the Homeless

                        4869 N. Broadway

                        Boulder, CO 80304

                        303.468.4312

                        travis@bouldershelter.org

December 6, 2013:  10-Year Anniversary of new facility for Boulder Shelter for the Homeless

At 5pm, on December 6, 2003 the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless began welcoming residents for their first night in the newly constructed shelter at 4869 N. Broadway. 

On October 1, 2013 the Boulder Shelter began its 31st season of winter sheltering for homeless adults in our community, and this Friday, December 6, 2013 will mark 10 years since the organization moved into its new facility.  In just those 10 years, thanks to the generous support of individuals, private foundations, corporations, faith communities, and local governments, the Shelter has been in continuous operation, open 18 hours a day every day of the week, and provided

• More
  than 350,000 bed nights
• More than 850,000 hot meals
• The opportunity for 800 people to graduate from our Transition Program into independent housing

Each of those 10 years, nearly 1000 committed volunteers have made the Shelter’s work possible.    Shelter volunteers touch the lives of homeless men and women by cooking and serving over 90,000 meals annually, assisting staff, helping with maintenance projects, and building the Shelter into a model of community compassion.

The new building brought many Shelter services under one roof, and include collaborative services with other local agencies, like Clinica, Mental Health Partners, Dental Aid, Community Food Share, and Via, creating a singular resource for homeless men and women.

The heat in the new facility is powered geo-thermally and solar energy augments traditional power sources. 

Each year, more than 1,100 men and women have a chance to break the cycle of homelessness at the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless.  Our most basic services - food and safe shelter - help people survive.  Other services - including case management and the Transition Program - offer an avenue to self-sufficiency for homeless adults in Boulder County. 

The Shelter provides women and men a place to overcome crisis when there is no other place to do so, an opportunity for hope in the face of overwhelming odds, and the resources to turn their lives around and leave life on the streets behind. 

Shelter residents have benefited enormously from the community’s generosity, which has helped to ensure that those who come to our door have been offered these services in the safe and dignified environment of the decade-old facility. 

As Executive Director Greg Harms says, “These men and women come to our doors hungry, weary, and in crisis.  They find a safe space to gather their personal resources, borrow some of ours, and help to work their way out of homelessness.”