Parker Spotlight: Keeping Family Together

Five sisters pooled their resources and lived together in Brighton, a community they had been part of for more than 30 years. Then sadness struck four times. They lost three siblings in a short period of time and without their combined income, could no longer pay the rent on their home. The two remaining sisters, one of which is on oxygen and the other a CPAP machine at night, with their 3 dogs moved into their car. Shelters don’t allow pets and they had lost enough family.

Fortunately, they found an CSPI SafeLot, and were given a spot to park at night with access to electricity and assigned a case manager to help them get connected to support services. Because they were in Adams County, that also had access to a rapid rehousing case manager through the Salvation Army. Rapid rehousing provides short-term renal assistance and service to help people obtain housing quickly. They were concerned the first apartment that was found was a bit outside their budget, and they would not be able to afford rent and food in the long term on just their social security incomes. They didn’t want to end up back in their car again in a few months, so they kept searching.

A month before the one-year mark at the SafeLot, they spotted what they felt was the perfect location. They walked in and told their story to the building manager, who decided to work with them. With the help of their case managers, the details were soon ironed out. They made sure the rent would be sustainable and now the sisters and their cherished dogs are settled into their new home.

Notes from the Executive Director

Spring and summer have been fruitful for CSPI. The hope and growth associated with this time of year for many is resonating with our organization more than ever. Recent grants and donations have shown people believe in what we are doing and care about the homeless vehicle residents in our community.

We are thrilled to be the recipients of a $50,000 grant from Impact 100, a women’s fundraising collective supporting organizations that create transformational change within our community. After a competitive process, we were among the worthy organizations sharing in the $200,000 in grant money distributed this year, including Hope Communities and Prodigy Coffee Ventures. We are humbled to be in the good company of other well-deserving non-profits striving every day to make our community better for all Metro Denver residents.

At the beginning of 2024, we made the very difficult decision to remove case management services from our three Broomfield SafeLots. The intention is that this decision is temporary as funding is built up to sustain this important aspect of our work. Our SafeLot hosts in Broomfield, along with strong partners such as the Refuge and Broomfield FISH, continued their commitment to the 15 guests parked in Broomfield. These partners also advocated for the Broomfield Community Foundation to provide some emergency funding for case management – which they did! Our case manager is back in place and working diligently to support guests on their journey to stable housing.

Thank so all who responded to our recent Summer fundraising campaign. We appreciate every dollar donated by individuals in our community. We simply cannot do our important work without the flexibility that your gifts provide, enabling us to respond to unplanned or urgent Parker needs. If you haven’t had a chance to give yet – there is still time do so here.

Program Update

Showers for All

Just in time for summer, we are happy to note that showers have been made available through the end of the season for Parkers and others who need a place to freshen up. The downtown location is graciously organized by the Dignity Project and will be available on Wednesdays to start.

Meet Our New Board Members

CSPI is very excited to welcome two new members of our Board of Directors. This addition extends CSPI's reach into new sectors in the community, and will help spread the word about the growth of vehicular homelessness and how CSPI tries to meet the need. Welcome Beth and Cassie!

Beth Harris-Robinson (read bio)

General Counsel, Archway Communities

Cassie Tanner (read bio)

Public Affairs & Government Relations, The Auto Club Group

Funder Spotlight

As noted, CSPI has been awarded a very generous grant of $50,000 from Impact100, a women’s collective giving fund. This grant is very competitive; in addition to CSPI’s award Prodigy Coffee Ventures received $50,000 and Hope Communities $100,000. We are so honored!

The funds from Impact100 are going to help CSPI transform and grow by expanding our ability to grow our funding base with outreach to communities, and enhancing our communications about our mission and our success in helping people regain stable housing. Be on the lookout soon for an exciting new look to our website, and a fresh newsletter and more!

We are so very grateful to the women of Impact100 for selecting CSPI as one of their 2024 grantees.

Rochelle (CSPI Co-Founder) and Terrell (CSPI Executive Director)

In Memoriam: Michael Meyer

It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our cherished SafeLot parker and lot manager, Michael. A caring and hardworking family-man, Michael leaves behind his wife and three grown children, and many friends from his SafeLot community and beyond. CSPI has had the honor of working with Michael through his journey from unhoused to SafeLot guest and being hired as the main contact point for other parkers in an Adams County lot, and finally being re-housed with his wife of 37 years. After a brief illness that he could not overcome, Michael passed away.

To learn more about Michael’s experience with us at CSPI, you’ll find his story here.

Current Parker Needs

With the extreme heat facing SafeLot Parkers this week, we’re hoping to collect some items that will make the temps more bearable and keep folks safe. If you can purchase a handheld fan or windscreen shade from our Amazon wish list, the CSPI community would be truly grateful.

We always appreciate donations (it's not too late to give for our summer funding drive!), which help us respond most flexibly to Parker needs. Donate here.

Or, you can purchase service station gift cards, then mail to:

CSPI

c/o Barton Institute

1114 W 7th Avenue, Suite 215

Denver, CO 80204

If you need a safe place to park overnight, please complete the request form at https://www.colosafeparking.org/request-a-parking-permit