Sue Beck-Ferkiss
Executive Director
Homelessness Prevention Initiative
424 Pine Street, Suite 102
Fort Collins, CO 80524
970.407.7021
The Homelessness Prevention Initiative provides rental assistance to members of our community who face the loss of their housing through unforeseen emergencies. For those who earn a marginal income or work in service sector jobs, homelessness is just one rent payment away. When work hours are reduced, when a job is lost or a child requires expensive emergency care, making that rent payment may not be possible.
When a family or individual loses their home, the expenses to the community are far more significant than the cost of prevention.
- In 2007, the program helped 635 families maintain their housing with an average assistance amount of $239.
- While prevention costs an average of $239 per household, the costs of time spent in a shelter, on emergency room visits, agency services, food baskets, and the costs to secure new housing total $5,000 and more per family.
- The 635 families assisted in 2007 represent a savings of over $3.1 million dollars to the community. Since the inception of the program, over 3400 families have been helped, for a community savings of over $16.3 million dollars.
The Homelessness Prevention Initiative assists families by providing:
- Grants for rent payment, in the form of a check made out to the landlord
- Referral to appropriate services, agencies and resources in the community
- Mediation between residents and property owners
Funding for this work is made possible through the generosity of the local faith community, foundations, agencies and individuals. Volunteers working out of four local churches perform intake services, provide referrals and advocacy, and authorize rental assistance. These church intake sites are located in diverse areas of Fort Collins and include St. Joseph Catholic Church, Plymouth Congregational Church, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, and Harmony Presbyterian Church.
Children's health and well being are not compromised when they can grow in the familiar setting of their own home. More significant than the financial costs of homelessness are the costs to the health and welfare of the children involved.
Homeless children experience:
- 2 times as many ear infections
- 5 times more diarrhea and stomach problems
- 6 times as many speech and stammering problems
- 4 times the average rate of delayed development
- Are 2 times more likely to go hungry than other children
We know that at least 20% of homeless children do not attend school. They fall behind their grade level and out of their peer group, a loss that puts them at disadvantage for a lifetime.
The 635 households served by the Homelessness Prevention Initiative in 2007 represent 940 children. Helping families in Fort Collins maintain stable housing supports the quality of life in our city. The need for rental assistance continues to increase as people struggle to meet basic needs while healthcare, utilities, childcare, housing, and gasoline prices rise.
The Initiative is supported by the generosity of the Fort Collins Interfaith Council and more than 30 local faith congregations:
- American Baptist Church
- Blessed John XXIII University Parish
- Community of Christ First Presbyterian Church
- Christ United Methodist Church
- Foothills Unitarian Church
- Fort Collins Mennonite Fellowship
- Harmony Presbyterian Church
- Heart of the Rockies Christian Church
- Holy Family Catholic Church
- Living Hope Evangelical Free Church
- Our Saviour's Lutheran Church
- Plymouth Congregational Church
- Presbytery of Plains and Peaks
- The River Foursquare Church
- Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church
- Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church
- St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish
- St. Joseph Catholic Church
- St. Luke's Episcopal Church
- St. Paul's Episcopal Church
- St. Peter's Anglican Church
- Trinity Lutheran Church
- Westminster Presbyterian Church
- United Way of Larimer County
- City of Fort Collins
- Larimer County Health and Human Services Department
- The Daniels Fund
- The Bohemian Foundation
- The Connors Family Foundation
- Anschutz Family Foundation
- Colorado Association of Realtors Housing Opportunity Fund (CARHOF)
- El Pomar Foundation
- The Community Foundation of Northern Colorado
- Patricia McLean Memorial Foundation
- Rotary Club of Fort Collins
- U.S. Bank
- Wells Fargo Community Assistance Fund
- J.J.J. Foundation
- Sutherland Family Foundation
- Fort Collins Sertoma
- Foothills Rotary
- Gladys R. Neil Shoup Charitable Trust
- Mildred Arnold Foundation
Photos from 2008 Volunteer Recognition Event
Photos from 2007 Volunteer Recognition Event
Photos from 2006 Volunteer Recognition Event
