The
Bridge Emergency Shelter
Mission and Vision
Our mission is to provide or arrange overnight
shelter and a hot meal for adult homeless and stranded men and women in the Cortez community
thereby reducing illness and fatalities due to exposure to harsh weather from October to April.
Our vision is that we believe
that all people deserve the basic necessities of life. We
envision a community where people can access emergency shelter
in a manner that supports their dignity and encourages
self-sufficiency.
Current
Season: October 16, 2009 through April 15, 2010
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The Bridge Emergency Shelter
is located in the "old jail", at the southwest corner
of the Justice Building, facing the Sheriff's office.
The address is 608 West Mildred Road.
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Clients are checked in beginning at 6:00 PM. We admit clients any time
of the night. Clients must leave the shelter by 7:00
AM each day.
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We
serve adult men and women; families are taken in and cared
for until arrangements can be made to move them to a
different location.
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Once
a client enters the shelter they cannot leave except to
smoke outside the door; if they choose to leave, they will
not be re-admitted that night.
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Warm
meals are served nightly and food is available for
breakfasts.
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Coffee,
hot chocolate, and juice are available all the time.
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Intoxicated
clients are allowed; they are put in a room near the staff
office so that they can be checked regularly.
How It Works
The Bridge Emergency Shelter is a not-for-profit organization that
is governed by a Board of Directors who meet once a month to provide fiscal oversight, management
oversight, fund raising work, and guidance regarding our programs. We have a Memorandum of
Understanding with the Board of County Commissioners whereby we have agreed on the terms and
limits of our utilizing part of the old jail space.
We have four night shift staff. We depend
on volunteers to assist the staff person on duty for the
early shift when most clients check in. Two volunteers are
needed each night. The shift is from 5:30 to 10:00 pm.
The night staff works the late shift from 10:00 pm to 7:00 am.
Because we have no kitchen, soups and stews are provided by the
two soup kitchens in Cortez. Grace's Kitchen at St.
Barnabas Episcopal Church cooks for us two days a week.
Hope's Kitchen at the First United Methodist Church cooks for us
three days a week. Weekend food is prepared by volunteers
at Hope's Kitchen.
Funding for the Bridge Emergency
Shelter comes from a variety of sources. We have an
Emergency Shelter Grant from the Colorado Division of Housing.
In addition we have received grants from United Way, the
Ballantine Family Fund, and the Anschutz Family Foundation.
Our largest cash contribution last season came from the Ute
Mountain Ute Tribe in the amount of $19,000. Our budget is
about $100,000 and last season we received about $18,000 from
local community churches, non-profit organizations, and
individuals.
How You Can Help
To volunteer at the Shelter, call John
Van Cleve at 560-5209 or send a message to
bridgeemergencyshelter@gmail.com. Female
and male volunteers are needed for shelter shifts from October
through April. Shifts are from 5:30 pm to 10:00 pm,
7 days a week.
Any shifts you can fill are appreciated!
Volunteers are also needed
for food preparation for the shelter.
Donations such as Gatorade, canned soups, saltine
crackers, cookies, fruit juices, hot cocoa and cider, hot and
cold cereals, large men's and women's coats, sweatshirts, pants,
hats, gloves, socks, underwear, paper bowls, plastic utensils,
paper towels, toilet paper, laundry soap, bleach, and floor
cleaner are always welcome.
Community support: Speak
about the Shelter to family, friends, co-workers, city and
county officials. Get involved with fundraising, shelter
programs, community outreach, and learning opportunities.
Cash donations are essential to our
continuing operation and can be sent to PO Box 56, Cortez CO
81321.
Contact
John Van Cleve, Shelter Manager
Geri Saunders-Klein, Assistant Manager
Shelter: 970-560-5209
MB McAfee, MSW, Ph.D, Chair, Board of Directors
Shelter: 970-560-5017
Email:
bridgeemergencyshelter@gmail.com
or
mbmcafee@fone.net
History
The statistics for the past season (October 2008 - April
2009) show that we were open for 185 nights. We averaged
15 clients per night and we served 196 unduplicated clients.
We counted 2744 client nights. Eighty-two percent of our
clients were men and 18% were women. These figures
represent the ethnicity of our clients: 22% Anglo, 76%
American Indian, 2% African American, and 2& Hispanic. The
majority of the American Indian clients self-identified as
Navajo tribal members and 25% of the American Indian clients
self-identified as members of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe.
This past season saw several success stories
that represent "bridges". With the assistance of a case
worker provided by the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe via a Memorandum
of Agreement we have with the Tribe, and with the help of a
shelter volunteer, we helped ten clients move to more positive
circumstances. Two clients are now self-sufficient and
live independently in the community. Three clients are
receiving benefits from the Veterans Administration, Food
Stamps, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and other benefits
for which they were eligible. Two clients continue to live
with family members on the reservation.
Our
Future
In the future we are hoping to build a
shelter on land that has been donated by the county at the
northwest corner of Empire Avenue and Park Street.
Our
Board of Directors
M.B. McAfee, Chair
Roy Lane, Cortez Chief of Police, Treasurer
Roni Anthony, Secretary
Elaine Bridges
Jay Harrington, Cortez City Manager
Tony Hernandez
Angel Hubbard
Pat Kantor
Rick Meredith, Southwest Memorial Hospital
Art Neskahi, Southwest Intertribal Voice
Matt Patton, Cortez Addictions Recovery Services
Dennis Story, Montezuma County Social Services
Gerald Wallace, Montezuma County Sheriff
Vici Worcesterebsie, Montezuma County Sheriff's Office
Click
here to see the floor plan of the proposed Bridge Emergency
Shelter. (PDF)
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