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NORTHERN COLORADO
Northern Colorado’s Independent Living Services offers a number of
programs with one common goal: providing its senior
clients the services they need to stay healthy,
safe, and independent in their own homes.
While clients include anyone over the age of 55,
many of these seniors are much older than that and
live alone on fixed incomes. The Handyman program is
committed to reducing safety hazards in the home to
help prevent falls and injuries. Northern Colorado’s
Seniors’ Nutrition Program and Meals on Wheels
ensures seniors have groceries and delicious meals
delivered to their homes. The Caring Companion
Program offers friendship and respite to homebound
seniors and their caregivers.
Northern Colorado’s Volunteers of America also provides fulfilling,
volunteer opportunities so that individuals are able
to give back to their communities. The staff in Ft.
Collins is a caring, hard working team committed to
supporting the dignity of the seniors they serve.
Elsa’s Story
Elsa Turner, a Ft. Collins senior, never expected a tumble to take such a
toll on her retirement years. While changing an
over-head light bulb in her kitchen, Elsa became
dizzy and fell from her stepstool. Now Mrs. Turner
calls the Volunteers
of America Handyman Program to help with
household repairs and she also receives Meals on
Wheels five days a week. The help provided from the
Northern Colorado Services division has enabled Elsa
to stay in her home. Elsa knows that Volunteers of
America does more than just household repairs and
meal delivery, they care.
SOUTHWESTERN COLORADO
SERVICES
The Southwest Colorado Division provides programs specifically
designed to meet the needs of the 4 corners region.
The Volunteers of America Durango Community Shelter
provides emergency housing for almost 500 homeless
children, women and men each year. Through referral
services, clients have access to jobs,
permanent housing and hope for a better future. A
number of these beds are reserved for chronically
ill clients to recover in medical respite beds,
eliminating the financial burden and stress of
hospitalization. |
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Volunteers of America’s
Durango Community Shelter partners with other vital
community providers like The Community Emergency
Assistance Coalition, providing emergency financial
assistance to families, and Energy outreach
Colorado, providing energy assistance
to low income families.
Each year the Volunteers of America Southwest Safehouse shelters 200
women and children survivors of domestic violence
from communities across southwest Colorado. When
women and children enter the Southwest Safehouse
they feel protected and begin on the road to a
confident and self-reliant future – returning to
school, finding jobs, acquiring permanent housing
and discovering self respect and independence.
Volunteers of America in Southwest Colorado provides essential and
unduplicated human services in collaboration with
virtually every health and human service agency,
church and governmental organization in the region.
Andrea’s Story
Andrea arrived at the Volunteers of America Durango
Community Shelter (DCS) with her ixteen year
old daughter after having slept in their car for
over a week. Andrea and her five children had lived
in Durango for more than a year, but as
a single mother Andrea found it very difficult to
pay
her monthly bills on her modest income. When
Andrea’s child support stopped arriving, Andrea and
her children were evicted from their home. Soon she
had to send four of her five children to live with
their grandmother until she could stabilize her
situation.
A week after arriving at the Durango Community
Shelter, Andrea was able to reunite with her other
four children. The children returned to school and
the family connected with other community resources
through the Volunteers of America program that
provided long-term solutions for Andrea’s family.
During that time the Durango Community Shelter
staff witnessed a change in the children – they had
become more playful, responsive, comfortable, and
successful at school. With support and encouragement
from the DCS counselors, Andrea’s oldest daughter,
who had
dropped out of school, began to consider attending
Adult Education Classes to complete her GED. Andrea
was able to find affordable, permanent housing.
Today, thanks to Volunteers of America’s Durango
Community Shelter, Andrea continues to be a
successful head of household for her five children
in the Durango community. |
