Local agencies seek more help for homeless families

Two agencies have announced plans to address Colorado Springs’ growing homeless problem.

Partners in Housing, an organization that helps homeless families with children, received a $75,000 grant from the Daniels Fund, a regional charitable foundation.

“They were pleased with our results and our outcomes for our families,” said Mary Stegner, executive director for PIH. “We had 92 percent of our families who were with us last year, move into their own housing and became self-sufficient in our community. That’s a huge success rate for our program.”

PIH plans to use the money to help more than 135 families in its homeless self-sufficiency program. The program provides families with a year of housing, case work, life skills and budget/credit counseling designed to get them into permanent housing.

Mona David and her teenage daughter are among the latest victims of homelessness. David, 42, moved to the city from New York last year to enroll at a Bible college. She said her job at a department store didn’t pay enough to keep up on her rent and she was evicted.

“I’d say that when you become homeless, there’s like an immediate hopelessness,” David said. “The fact that you’re going into homelessness, it’s scary. You don’t know where you’re going to sleep at night. It’s hard just trying to understand.”

Homeless families with children are among the fastest-growing segments of the homeless population, with a 50 percent increase in local applications for help during the past two years, PIH said.

“Over the past year-and-a-half, it’s been getting worse,” said Diane Williams of the Salvation Army, who sees more homeless families at its shelter. “My numbers are not having the typical ebbs and flows, and seasonal changes. It’s pretty much the same number of families across the board, all year long.”

Williams said the Salvation Army and other agencies are trying to provide more resources but much of their help depends on donations.

The Davids were helped by another organization, Family Promise, that will provide housing for three months until Mona David pays her bills and gets back on her feet.

“I’m very blessed to be in this place because somebody cared enough about me and my daughter,” she said.

Pikes Peak Habitat for Humanity, which builds homes for low-income families, is observing its 30th anniversary this month with a campaign called “30 Years, 30 Days, 30 Dollars.”

HFH is asking people to donate $30 toward a goal of $6,000. The agency also wants existing donors to donate $75,000 toward construction of a home.

HFH has built nearly 140 homes in its 30 years of existence.