ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Inside the doors of Spirit of Hope United Methodist Church in Englewood, people experiencing homelessness are getting a helping hand before this weekend’s freeze.
“We want them to come in here, feel loved, cared for,” said volunteer David Coats. “We're not just trying to do something off the cuff, but something really good.”
We met Coats in the kitchen as he prepared a fresh batch of chili for the dozens of people waiting to receive vouchers from HAAT Force, an Englewood nonprofit dedicated to getting unhoused individuals into motel rooms when severe weather strikes.
“It’s going to be really cold this weekend, and so we activate and we make sure that they can get into rooms for that lifesaving shelter,” said Julie Hall, program director for HAAT Force.
The organization mostly assists individuals in the Englewood, Littleton, and Sheridan areas, but extends help to anyone without shelter options in surrounding communities.
“There's a lot of areas near us that don't have a permanent shelter, and so anybody that wants to stay with us and doesn't have a shelter option can,” said Hall.
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Denver's likely snow totals as coldest temps of the season arrive this weekend
HAAT Force activates its emergency shelter program when forecasts show temperatures of 32 degrees and lower with wet conditions, or 20 degrees and lower with dry conditions.
On these days, clients get checked in and receive a warm meal at the church as they wait for their vouchers.
“One of the important things we do is create an ID for our clients so that they are able to check into a hotel,” said Hall, “a lot of them are not able to keep an ID with them, so we do some of those things in our systems.”
Before heading out, they receive personal hygiene items and several meals to-go, since their motel rooms come equipped with mini-fridges and microwaves.
“We're really trying to have that human touch for other things that people need,” said Hall.
The nonprofit's biggest concern this season is a potential surge in demand compared to years past.
“We're hearing from lots of people who are saying they're newly becoming unhoused,” she said. “It is challenging. Funding is unstable, and so we're trying to be more creative than ever with lots of different ways that we can get grants and private donors and business sponsorships, so that we all are coming to the table to take care of our neighbor.”
With the first major cold snap hitting on Thanksgiving weekend, the goal is sending people away with more than just the basics –
“We want to try and be some kind of family for them at this moment, said Coats, “we want to love them now and reflect that to them.”
