Helping unhoused Coloradans get back on their feet: Ready to Work program and navigation center opens in Englewood

CBS News

6 days ago

A new facility just opened in Englewood to help unhoused people in Arapahoe County. It's a collaborative effort between the Colorado county, Englewood, Littleton and Sheridan to address homelessness with an approach being seen more in the state: putting work first instead of housing first.
Bringing the facility to Arapahoe County also represents a milestone in the Tri-Cities Homelessness Initiative, which addresses homelessness in these communities.
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The new Bridge House Ready to Work Tri-Cities location is located 4675 South Windermere Street in Englewood. The facility has two programs within it, offering long term and short-term resources.
For Chris Charles, going through a similar program, was life changing. Charles found has his path out of poverty, but several years ago, he found himself in jail for 6 months because of DUIs after losing several family members.
"My drinking was a problem for me, and I didn't know how to cope with the emotions. I lost everything, because I wasn't able to work, and I wasn't able to pay my bills," said Charles.
He then got into Bridge House's Ready to Work program. It's a Boulder-based organization founded nearly 25 years ago that began the Ready to Work program nearly a dozen years ago. A second site also opened in Aurora where they continued to focus on the Ready to Work program, which helps people get out of homelessness and into housing and employed in a sustainable way.
As part of the Ready to Work program, people live in dorm style housing for nine to 12 months and get paid work opportunities. The organization has contracts with local cities, where employed people do landscaping work. Bridge House also offer wrap around services to get people out of homelessness.
Scott Medina is the Director of Community Relations at Bridge House.
"We're playing the long game here, to really change people's lives permanently and to get those kinds of results, you need a longer, more in depth program to do it," said Medina.
The new Bridge House Ready to Work Tri Cities location is more than 13,000 square feet and can house up to 50 people long-term. The program has an 80% success rate.
While the other side of the facility is the Tri Cities Homeless Navigation Center meant for short term resources like showers and laundry facilities, and up to 20 overnight beds. The Navigation Center also provides walk-in services, housing assistance, employment services, medical and mental health care.
Both programs in the new facility operate as programs under Bridge House.
"There are very few ready-to-work options. Housing First is very popular across the country, which is fantastic, but we take it a step further by including the employment piece," said Medina. "We also have the navigation in the same building as the ready to work program. So, we can even serve a much wider range of people through that... There are so many reasons that people become homeless in the first place, so there needs to be a lot of solutions to get out of homelessness."
Medina said more than 500 people have graduated from the Ready to Work program in the last 12 years. He added, all graduates end up getting a full-time job. Those in the program must also maintain sobriety.
For Charles, he believes in the program because people are given the resources they need to get back on their feet. He added, toward the end of the program, participants work with employment specialists, who can also help with writing resumes and mock interviews to help prepare people to enter the workforce and find permanent housing.
"It's not a handout. We're teaching people how to take care of themselves and advocate for themselves, and that is what saved my life," said Charles, who graduated from Boulder's program and spent 12 months there.
Charles got the support he needed through the program and is now three years sober. He has been out of the program for over two years and currently oversees housing operations at Bridge House in Englewood at the Tri Cities location, with compassion for residents now in the program and giving back to them.
"I wanted to be a part of something that saved my life, and being a part of saving other people's lives and helping them become successful is the most rewarding thing that I've ever done," said Charles.
All say it's a group effort in addressing homelessness between Arapahoe County, Englewood, Littleton and Sheridan.
In a press release from Arapahoe County, the County said, "the project's funding represents a significant multi-jurisdictional commitment," as each community has helped fund the effort, which is listed below:
- Arapahoe County: $1 million (American Rescue Plan Act Funds)
- Arapahoe County: $577,000 (Community Development Block Grants)
- City of Englewood: $850,000
- City of Littleton: $175,000 (American Rescue Plan Funds)
- City of Littleton: $1.5 million Housing & Urban Development grant
- City of Sheridan: $250,000
- Additional support from foundation and operational grants
"Addressing homelessness and harm reduction are top priorities for the residents of Arapahoe County," said Board Chair Leslie Summey. "Our $1.5 million ARPA investment demonstrates our commitment to creating meaningful opportunities for our most vulnerable community members."
"They're really looking for some very effective services to get people out of homelessness in the area and really deal with the issues that they're facing. So, they've been very excited to get a Ready to Work program in this area that will permanently people out of homelessness," said Medina.
For more information about the Tri-Cities Homelessness Initiative, visit tricitieshomeless.com.