Catholic Charities set to build new homeless housing units in Colorado Springs

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Plans are underway to remodel an old Colorado Springs middle school into a homeless family shelter. This comes after a lack of funding prompted the closure of two other shelters in the city. 

With more than 200 El Paso County families struggling to find housing right now, officials said there is a great need for temporary housing. The Colorado Springs Catholic Charities Organization bought the old Helen Hunt Campus to build apartments for homeless families. 

"This building will become 21 to 24 units of housing mixed between studios all the way up to three-bedroom units," said Andy Barton, CEO of Catholic Charities of Central Colorado.

Barton said they started planning the transitional housing project in 2021.

"It will be a place for families to stabilize and get back on their feet and go into a more permanent housing setting after a while," said Barton.  

Now the group is raising funds to start the $9 million reconstruction of the old Helen Hunt campus. The goal is to have space for up to 24 transitional families. 

"Families that are living in these apartments will pay 30 percent of their income as their rent. That's the model we are looking at right now, so a family that comes in and doesn't have any income won't pay any rent," added Barton.  

Catholic Charities plans to provide free resources to those living in the apartment complex. Helping them with family counseling, education, and nutrition resources. 

"Families will live in these apartment units anywhere from 6 months to 18 months; however, long it takes for them to stabilize from a homeless situation and to get more into a permanent housing situation," said Barton.  

Currently, Catholic Charities is halfway towards its goal of raising $5.2 million to start construction. The apartments are expected to be completed in 2024.