Fire and closure of Fort Collins Rescue Mission shelter takes toll on resources during the winter

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Last August, there was a fire in the kitchen at the Fort Collins Rescue Mission and since then, the shelter has been closed.

"The dorms, the showers, the bathrooms and the laundry facilities that we have here, we can get them back into operations. It's just a matter of how soon we can do it," said Seth Forwood, vice president of programs for Northern Colorado, Fort Collins Rescue Mission.

"Do you know how soon that could be?" asked Denver7's Danielle Kreutter.

"I thought we were going to get back in here before Thanksgiving. Fire damage always takes way longer than you would expect," he said.

Forwood said the closure has taken a toll on the options available to those experiencing homelessness.

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"Between August 23 and December 22 we turned away people, 1089 times, who came to us, but we just didn't have space for them," said Forwood.

Thanks to generous community donations they were able to to open another shelter north of Wellington called Harvest Farm, and a temporary shelter at 117 Mason.

That was working well, until winter weather rolled in Thursday night.

"Last night, we are really getting to the maximum that we can handle, even with the expansion of this second site. We have a capacity for 40 at the Harvest Farm overflow site. So we are full up with 70 at the Mason shelter, and we reached 39 last night," and Forwood.

The Rescue Mission is nervous, especially considering they are the only shelter for men experiencing homelessness in Fort Collins.

One way the community can continue being part of the solution is donations — particularly warm clothing for anyone who may need to be turned away if the shelters reach capacity.

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"I hope to God, we don't, but for our staff to turn away people that they know, they call them by their names, they know their stories. And have somebody in the dead of night come when it's freezing out, say, 'We can't help you, we're full.' To give them something to go out into the night with is a blessing," said Forwood.

Work is underway for a long term solution in Fort Collins. The creation of the Homeless Resolution Center.

The center will have a 250 bed shelter inside of it in addition to other supportive services. The project is set to cost $27.5 million and the Rescue Mission is about $150,000 short.

"This building is going to be more than a shelter, just like our guests are more than just people experiencing homelessness. Fort Collins in Northern Colorado can do more than we've ever done before, if we all rally around this and give to make that building a reality," he said.

Click here to learn more about how to donate to that project.

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