November 2007 - Boulder Shelter for the Homeless

A Newsletter of the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless • November 2007
4 8 6 9 N o r t h B r o a d wa y, B o u l d e r, CO 8 0 3 0 4 • 3 0 3 - 4 4 2 - 4 6 4 6 • Fa x 7 2 0 - 5 6 5 - 3 6 2 4
w w w. b o u l d e r s h e l te r. o rg
Thank you to Boulder Arts
& Crafts for hosting Souper
Bowlder October 26 through
November 5 this year.
On October 1, 2007 the Boulder Shelter for the
Homeless began its 25th
25th season of service to
homeless adults in our community.
For 11 years Souper Bowlder has raised
funds and awareness for those less fortunate in our community. Each
year potters have generously donated hundreds of bowls and this year
all proceeds from the sales of the bowls will be donated to the Boulder
Shelter for the Homeless and the Mental Health Center serving Boulder
and Broomfield Counties.
Though the Shelter’s beginnings were humble, they were also inspiring. Today the Boulder
Shelter continues to express a great tradition of community compassion and generosity,
providing the essential services and support that are often necessary to help people get
back on their feet.
feet During these many past seasons, the Boulder Shelter has:
Provided 401,181
bed nights
T
To
19,109 men
me & women
And served more than 700,000 hot meals
With the help of nearly 15,000
volunteers.
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
4869 NORTH BROADWAY
BOULDER, CO 80304
•
f o r
t h e
H o m e l e s s
•
BOULDER SHELTER
Please see inside ffor a brief visual history of the Shelter>
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Boulder, CO
Permit No.840
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
LINDA JOURGENSEN, PRESIDENT
Former Mayor of Boulder
TOM HAGERTY, VICE PRESIDENT
Retired City of Boulder
Deputy Finance Director
TWENTY- FIVE
BETSEY MARTENS, TREASURER
Co-Executive Director,
Boulder Housing Partners
On December 23, 1982, in the middle of a
crippling winter storm that dropped a blanket of snow 18” deep, the Boulder Shelter for
the Homeless opened its doors for service.
In this issue of Under Our Roof
Roof, we take
a look back at the history of the Boulder
Shelter. In honor of our silver anniversary,
we asked Sister Donna Ryan, one of the original founders of the Boulder Shelter, to join us
for our annual Barely Black Tie Autumn Gala
on September 29th, 2007 to share some stories about the early days of the Shelter.
TOM STENZ, SECRETARY/RECORDER
Investment Representative
ANA ARIAS
Development Director
& Entrepreneur
DARRELL BILLINGTON
Secondary Educator
JONI COFFIN
Human Resources Manager
BOB COOPER
Attorney
LINDA KUHN
Researcher
JIM PETERS
Vice President,
Boulder Community Hospital
KATHY REIMS, MD
Physician
BRYAN SMITH
Software Sales Consultant
ADMINISTRATIVE
STAFF
GREG HARMS
Executive Director
TRAVIS RAILEY
Director, Development
& Marketing
RENE BRODEUR
Director, Programs
GINA M. BARAJAS
Manager, Volunteers
Shelter on the Green
Director’s Dialogue
YEARS AGO A GROUP OF CONCERNED
B OULDER
CITIZENS CAME TOGETH -
ER AND DECIDED THAT THOSE WITH NO HOME NEEDED SHELTER FROM THE COLD.
It was great fun to listen to Sister Donna reminisce about the genesis of the organization.
In vivid detail, she described the Shelter’s
first home—an old bus depot with no heat,
no beds (mats on a concrete floor) and one
toilet. She amused us with her account
of how she convinced the owner of the
Pleasure Chest, an adult book store, to allow
the Shelter to take over its defunct building.
Stories about Smackwater Jack, one of the
original Shelter residents, and his untimely
passing, reminded us all why we were there.
Sister Donna and the other originators of the
Shelter laid the foundation for an organization that has now served almost 20,000 of
the poorest people in our community.
As we celebrate 25 years of saving and
changing lives, it is fitting to thank all of you
who have made it possible by donating your
time, treasure and talent over the years. You
have helped those who have little. You have
helped give those in need the basic necessities of life; a hot meal, a safe place to sleep,
a friendly smile, a hot shower—the things
many of us take for granted, but which are
often out of reach for those living on the
streets.
The cold and snow of another Colorado winter have arrived. Correspondingly, soon more
than 150 men and women will seek respite
from the cold at the Shelter every night. We
lament that Sister Donna and her cohorts had
to create the Shelter in the first place, but we
also celebrate the fact that some local citizens cared enough to make a difference, and
that with your help, we continue to do so.
On May 17, 2007 the Shelter hosted its 13th
Annual Golf Classic, presented by Xilinx
at Vista Ridge Golf Club in Erie. It was a
gorgeous morning for our 144 golfers! The
Shelter kitchen kicked the day off with a
tasty breakfast during registration. A spectacular lunch, provided by Pasta Jay’s, was waiting for golfers at the end of the round, with
beverages courtesy of Superior Liquor and
Coors Distributing Company. Mark Nolan,
Assistant Director/Recruiting & Operations
for the C.U. Buffs Football Program, hosted
the awards presentation. Boulder Bookstore
sent each golfer home with a beautiful set of
coffee table books, featuring courses from
around the world. With the generosity of
these key partners and our sponsors, we succeeded in raising over $35,000 for Shelter
programs!
Title Sponsor | Xilinx
Gold Sponsors | Community Hospital
• FirstBank • Independent Order of
Oddfellows
Silver Sponsors | Cook & Jeffress, P.C. •
Flatirons Radiology • Mark H. Carson &
Associates • Micro Motion
Bronze Sponsors | ARC Integrated Program
Greg Harms
Executive Director
greg@bouldershelter.org
WAYNE AGRAZ
Controller
COREY SCOTT
Manager, Kitchen
KELLI MURPHY
Manager, Grants & Events
AMY GLENNEY
Manager, Boulder County
Cares
Thank you to all of the golfers that participated, and to our volunteers who made the
event possible: Angela Aibner, Elane, Laura,
Michol Bauer, Nate Gazdik, Becky Gillespie,
Mark Goosman, Erin Lamb, Trudy Neal,
Kady Offen, Rita Peters, Irene Rodriguez,
and Gwyn Wold. Very special thanks to
Dave Allen, Wes Goodson, Gary Jaycox, Billy
Perea, Tom Stenz, and Carol Ziegenhagen for
help organizing this fun-filled day.
Thank you to Henry
Wright for donating money
he received in lieu of gifts
at his birthday party.
Manhattan Middle School
of Arts and Academics
donated funds that
were raised through the
Manhattan Bowl Project
and silent auction.
Thank you to U.S. Bank for
its generous grant for the
Transition Program.
Matt Barber and Spyder
Active Sports donated
many pairs of pants and
shorts this summer season.
Thank you to First Western
Trust Bank for making
generous donations to ten
local organizations, including the Boulder Shelter, at
the open house celebrating
its opening in Boulder.
Serranos Bar & Grill and
Harpo’s held a blanket
drive for the Shelter every
weekend in September and
October.
AM 760 donated the proceeds from its Labor Day
weekend booth at A Taste
of Colorado.
WishList
The mission of the Boulder Shelter
for the Homeless is to provide safe
shelter, food, support services, and
an avenue to self-sufficiency for
homeless adults in our community.
Thank you for your contributions of the following items.
Please visit our website, www.bouldershelter.org, for our complete wish list.
We are especially in need of bath towels and wash cloths.
If you have towels in useable condition to donate, please call us!
Sample size toiletries • Over the counter medications (ibuprofen, vitamins, band aids, non-alcoholic cold medication) • Bus
tokens and light rail passes • Boulder Change (vouchers that enable the homeless to purchase necessities; visit www.boulderchange.org for more information) • Canned vegetables and beans • Blankets, sleeping bags, winter hats, gloves and jackets
JANET WALKER READY
Manager, Housing First
Page 2
Management • Boulder County Sheriff’s
Office • Boulder Police Department •
Control Service Center • Electronics By
Design • PROPay
Hole Sponsors | Fisher Chevrolet-Honda •
Flatiron Athletic Club • Keller Williams •
Pollard Friendly Motor Co. • RAC Transport
Tee Sponsors | Barnsley Tire Co. • Boulder
Police Officers Association • Flatirons
Solutions • Insight Designs • Premier
Members FCU • Wells Fargo
Thanks to all who helped
make the 12th Annual
Barely Black Tie Autumn
Gala such a success!
Look for an event roundup
in our next newsletter.
MIKE RAUER
Director, Facilities
MARY MAXFIELD, LCSW
Manager, Clinical Services
The 2007 Shelter golf committee plots strategy.
Snapshots from page 3
Under Our Roof
November 2007
Page 7
A Tradition of Compassion
Share your Holiday
Holiday drives are a great way for an individual, group, church, or company to support the efforts of the Boulder Shelter for the
Homeless from outside the Shelter. The holiday season is an excellent time to organize a
drive because it is traditionally the “season of
giving.” We are very appreciative of everyone
who chooses to offer their time and support
during the holidays. We would also encourage you to consider a non-holiday drive as an
opportunity to keep the spotlight on those
who are in need all year round.
V
olunteers started the Shelter 25 years ago, and today volunteers help us
keep our doors open, our meals served, and our residents connected
to caring people. Have you considered sharing your time and energy with
people in need? The required time commitment varies from a few hours for
a group project to a weekly shift of a couple hours or less. Many volunteers
work directly with our staff and residents in the evening or morning, helping to check in residents, distribute supplies, serve meals, and gather demographic information from the men and women who stay with us.
New volunteer orientations are held regularly, and provide the opportunity
to learn more about the Shelter and its clients, as well as discuss the particulars of your volunteer interests and our needs.
Volunteer Profile... Robbie Weisser
If you’d like more information about joining 1000 compassionate folks
at the Shelter this year, please call Volunteer Manager Gina M. Barajas at
303.468.4316, or email Gina at gina@bouldershelter.org
What is your occupation?
I am a recent graduate from
CU and currently work as a
server at The
Flagstaff House Restaurant.
What activities have you participated in as a Shelter volunteer?
Since beginning volunteering for the Boulder Shelter
I have mostly managed the
dorm supply desk and have
also worked in “the cage.”
Why do you volunteer?
I volunteer because I enjoy
working with the homeless community and feel
it’s incredibly important to
give back. Working with the
homeless is very rewarding
and the feeling I
get from working
with the shelter’s
residents is something no paycheck
will ever bring.
Volunteering is
something that has
always, and will always, be a
top priority in my life. I feel
it’s a small and easy way to
better myself and the community.
Page 6
In this 1989 photo, vvolunteers serve dinner to residents at the former
Shelter at 4645 North Broadway. Our meal programs are still possible
only with the dedicated help of many volunteers.
Since 1982, the Boulder Shelter has provided
food, shelter, and hope to men and women
in need with the caring help of
If you are interested in starting a drive for
the Shelter, please keep in mind that due
to limited space we are not able to accept
most clothing, with the exception of winter
hats, winter gloves, winter jackets and socks.
The most popular and familiar drives are
for non-perishable food items, blankets and
monetary contributions. For more information on how to partner with the Boulder
Shelter by organizing a drive, please contact
Travis Railey at 303.468.4312 or via email at
travis@bouldershelter.org.
Last Chance!
Getting ready to
take a required
annual withdrawal from your
IRA? You have
only until the
end of the year
to take advantage of a nice tax break from
Uncle Sam involving charitable donations.
The Pension Protection Act of 2006 permits
persons who have reached 70 ½ years of age
to make qualified charitable distributions
totaling up to $100,000 per year directly
from an IRA to a qualifying charity. These
distributions are tax-exempt to the donor
and don’t count against your deduction limits
for charitable contributions. If this provision
applies to you, consult your professional advisor—and please consider directing funds to
the Boulder Shelter.
nearly 15,000 volunteers.
Staff Profiles:
Volunteers, Residents & Donors
Contribute to Courtyard Project
Thanks to the physical labor provided
by several Transition Program residents, the labor and technical expertise
of staff from the JVA, Inc. civil engineering firm, and a generous donation
from a group called Special Ties, the
Shelter courtyard has a new garden bed
and a much improved drainage area.
Transition residents who were doing
gardening and grounds keeping as
service work at the Shelter started this
project off by removing several layers
of stones from a poorly functioning
drainage area, leveling the area off,
and clearing the adjacent strip of land
to be used as a garden bed. After hearing about the project, Martha Bowker,
our contact for the Special Ties group
which has been involved with previous
Shelter landscaping projects, offered
to donate funds for the railroad ties
needed to build the raised bed. Then,
in a stroke of good luck, the Shelter
was contacted by Matt Oscamou who
Charlie & Lauren Hager, Brian Welsh, Maribeth and
Matt Oscamou, of JVA, Inc. worked on the Shelter’s
drainage area and new garden bed.
Corey Scott
Gina Barajas
Manager, Kitchen
Manager, Volunteers
What are your daily responsibilities?
I make sure the kitchen is clean, prep and
sometimes cook the meals for the night, prepare menus for the week, arrange for deliveries and pick-ups of food, supplies, and donations. I work with the volunteer
coordinator as well as the facilities
lead on ways to best work with the
residents and volunteers with any
kitchen concerns - and just try to
come up with the most efficient
ways to manage the kitchen.
was looking for a group volunteer project and who just happened to work for
a civil engineering firm. Several staff
from JVA, Inc. spent a recent Saturday
morning rebuilding a better drainage
area and building the new raised garden bed which will be put into production for vegetables or flowers next
summer.
Why do you work at the Shelter?
Mainly because at the end of the day it’s a
job I really can feel good about doing. I love
working with the staff here, and the atmosphere that they create. I also moved here
from Chicago and I miss all the diversity and
weirdness of the city, and you get a little bit
of that working with the residents here.
This was truly a cooperative effort
which resulted in a big improvement to
the Shelter’s outside space. Thanks to
everyone involved in the project!
What do you like to do for fun?
I like to go hiking with my dog, I climb a lot
at the bouldering gym and sometimes outside, and I take improv classes in Denver.
Under Our Roof
November 2007
What are your daily responsibilities?
My daily responsibilities include recruiting,
orientating, scheduling and managing volunteers. I educate new volunteers about how
to give back to the community by volunteering. I support our established volunteers by keeping them updated
on how our facility operates.
Why do you work at the Shelter?
I work at the Shelter because
volunteering was more than my
hobby; it was my passion. I volunteered at our shelter for two years and I
enjoyed the relationships I made with the
staff. I believe in the mission statement that
the Boulder Shelter stands for and that is to
provide safe shelter, food and services to
homeless adults in our community.
What do you like to do for fun?
I like to have fun by spending time with my
family and friends. I am the aunt to 7 nieces
and nephews. I am fortunate to have them
all live close by. I enjoy outdoor events, book
stores, writing, music and laughter.
Today, as it has for 25 years, the
Shelter relies on the generosity
of compassionate people like
these folks to make its services
possible.
Thank you to those who
donated funds in honor of
Zac Tanner’s Bar Mitzvah
and Emma Kraft’s third
birthday.
Action Marketing Group
and Steve Elmes generously
donated sleeping bags
and tents for the Boulder
County Cares Program.
Christ The Servant
Lutheran Church sent
donations to the Shelter,
given through its Ash
Wednesday Offerings.
Thank you to The April
Fund for its significant
grant for the Transitional
Program for Women.
Thank you to Dirk
Widdowson and Tastefully
Toasted, LLC in Boulder
for their donation of cups,
utensils, spices and brown
sugar for the kitchen’s use.
Boulder Gardens Florist
donated two bouquets of
balloons for the Shelter’s
volunteer appreciation
party.
Snapshots continues page 7
Page 3
George Epp
Comments on the Shelter’s 25th Anniversary |
I
t is amazing to think about all the different people
who have been a part of the Boulder Shelter over
the last 25 years. I think of a vast sea of faces of residents, staff, volunteers, board members, and supporters
that I have known; those many faces are only a fraction
of the people that have helped the Shelter evolve from
where it came from to where it is and where it will go.
I became involved with the Shelter in the late 1980’s
when the move from 507 Canyon to 4645 North
Broadway was proposed. I attended a meeting to speak
in opposition to the move, but instead I listened to
the statements of many supporters at the meeting and
became a supporter myself. I served on the Shelter’s
Board of Directors from 1991 until late last year, including three terms as the board president.
In my early days with the Shelter the only programmatic
focus was on meeting emergency sheltering needs.
While emergency sheltering remains the top priority
of the Shelter, helping residents work toward stable
housing and employment has also become a part of the
Shelter’s mission.
Saving & Changing Lives for 25 YEARS
Sister Donna Ryan, the founder of
Boulder’s Task Force on Shelter and
Food for the Poor, in a 1982 photo.
Twenty five years ago, after a local homeless man froze to death, an allvolunteer effort founded Boulder’s first shelter in an abandoned bus terminal downtown. As one founder put it, “There was no heat, one toilet,
and only sometimes running water. But things we needed would just
appear. Every morning I’d go out and find donations at the door.”
‘88877
The Shelter moved again to a 1970’s-style “hot tub”
motel on north Broadway that had been built in the
1950’s. This was the Shelter’s home for 17 years.
In the late 80’s and early 90’s the financial position of
the Shelter was often desperate. As time went by many
people worked hard to overcome stereotypes and
inform our communities about the nature of homelessness. Support for the Shelter grew, and we learned effective ways to translate the support into financial stability
for the Shelter organization.
The Shelter is now involved in the Housing First initiative, recognition that stability in a person’s life is difficult
to achieve if basic housing needs have not been met.
It is my hope that in the future our community will look closely at the root causes of
homelessness. We are familiar with the problems of mental illness and substance abuse.
But we must look at the manner in which the
housing stock in Boulder County has evolved.
The fact is that many people who are homeless are employed, but simply can’t find an
affordable place to live. Affordable housing for families
has been on the front burner for some time, but our
stock of Single Room Occupancy (SRO) housing has
dwindled to next to nothing, and as it has diminished,
the number of single homeless adults has soared.
1982
‘96
96
The Shelter’s year-round Transition Program was initiated in
August 1996. The Transition Program offers residents more services, including intensive case management, through which they
are enabled to address and work through the issues that lead to
their homelessness. Since its inception, the program has graduated over 550 men and women into stable housing.
‘03
03
In March 2002, the Boulder Shelter received land use approval to build a shelter at 4869 North
Broadway. The Shelter opened its new facility in December 2003. The building has 160 beds, a
large kitchen and dining area, medical and dental rooms, and dedicated space for case managers
to meet with clients.
I look forward to a time in the future when housing, as
well as health care, will be available to all.
—Barbara Farhar, 1982 Shelter Task Force Director
‘83
The Shelter moved from the condemned bus
depot to a small metal warehouse, the former
home of an adult book store known as The
Pleasure Chest.
‘95
95
Shelter 19
83
Despite the many improvements that had been made
over the years, by 1995 the complex was overcrowded
and inadequate. Many more people were coming to
the door than could be accommodated. The Shelter’s
board began to consider the need for a new facility.
‘97
97
The Boulder County Cares program was started in March 1997
through the efforts of seven collaborating agencies, including the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless. BCC assists Boulder
County’s unsheltered homeless during life-threatening conditions by providing services and supplies, and making referrals
to other community service providers.
2007
07
With a facility that can accommodate the homeless population in our community in a safe
and dignified manner, the Shelter’s board looks to the future as discussions turn to enhancing
programs, maintaining financial stability, and forming stronger collaborations with other area
providers.
Former Boulder County Sheriff George Epp served on
the Shelter’s Board of Directors from 1991 until 2006.
Page 4
“The community wanted the Shelter to happen – it never would’ve happened
without that. It became a community agency, and has been so since, showing
that people can make a difference, that real change is possible.”
Under Our Roof
November 2007
Page 5