Northern Colorado is a special place known for its community spirit, love for our neighbors and working together to tackle big issues.
At the corner of Jefferson and Linden in Old Town Fort Collins stands a 5,240 square-foot building with decades of history steeped within its walls, including serving as the location of a farmhouse, a pump equipment company, a bus center, and most recently, a shelter for those experiencing homelessness. In November of 2012, Denver Rescue Mission was asked to assume operations of the homeless shelter that had been there for 27 years. Today, Fort Collins Rescue Mission (FCRM) has become a trusted service provider that is now fully funded by donors in Northern Colorado—making a bigger impact than its outside facade might suggest. It’s a place where hundreds of men seek refuge from the street and often leave with a life forever changed.
“We’ve always been about so much more than meals and shelter,” said Director Paula Ordaz. “We get to see lives changed because of the services we offer to anyone who has the need and the willingness to plan a path out of homelessness.”
Last year, more than 160 men moved from homelessness into more stable housing after working with FCRM and its New Life Program at Harvest Farm. Through adding 24/7 shelter and case management services in 2021, FCRM has been able to help even more guests obtain housing year after year, help them get and keep jobs, rebuild their lives, and move out of homelessness.
“We are helping restore men’s lives, and in turn, their children have a restored relationship with their dad, moms and dads get their sons back, families once broken, are healed,” said Seth Forwood, Vice President of Programs.
DeWayne, a former shelter guest who is now in housing, said, “This place gets me off the streets. They give me the stability to try to get things accomplished to get out of this situation.”
And yet, FCRM is not a dignified space. It has accessibility challenges; the dining room and guest dorms are cramped and the single office doubles as an overflow bedroom. It is increasingly difficult to keep up in the current space and our staff has faced the heartbreak of having to turn away guests for the last two years (1,247 times last year alone).
We want to do more than our current reality allows, which is why we are announcing our More Than… campaign to raise funds for a new homeless resolution center.
We are underway with a building site secured, and with support from local community members (as of the publishing of this article), we have raised almost $24 million towards our goal of $27 million. We need to raise the final $3 million from the community as quickly as possible to finish this important forward-looking solution for services that will have long-lasting benefit for everyone involved.
In place of a former bus station that has been patched up for more than 40 years and is in need of constant repair, the new center will:
- End the need for winter overflow shelter hosted by the city, which has been staffed by FCRM at various office building conference rooms for the past five years
- Provide a new day center for men and women, which allows for intake and a place to be off the street in a safe environment and offers refuge from freezing temperatures or scorching heat
- Offer more access to private case management, the primary need to making a plan to get off the street
- Host community partners all under one roof who can address pressing issues our guests are facing, like behavioral health, mental health and job placement
Our loving community’s partnership is vital to make this vision a reality. Together, we can help end homelessness for more people than ever before.
Join us to do More Than… Ever Before
Linneya Gardner, Content Specialist at Fort Collins Rescue Mission
March 4, 2025 For comments and questions about this blog, please email LGardner@denrescue.org
