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Catholic Charities to open $4 million resource center in Greeley
By Cahleen Hegarty
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Thanks to the incredible spirit and support of the Weld County community and Catholic Charities, the area’s homeless, poor and other vulnerable populations now have an invaluable resource to help them on the road to self-sufficiency: the new Guadalupe Community Center, which will be dedicated on Aug. 26. The center will open in early September.
The center, located at 1442 N. 11th Ave. in Greeley, is a state-of-the-art, centralized, 13,000-square-foot facility that is an accessible one-stop approach to getting people back on their feet by providing not only shelter, but homeless-prevention resources and case management.
“We hope people will perceive the shelter as a welcoming and safe place to come and get the support, healing and encouragement they need to work themselves out of a crisis,” said Enita Kerns-Hout, Charities’ Weld County regional director.
The need for a new facility was readily apparent. Research showed that there are an estimated 2,500-3,000 homeless men, women and children in Weld County.
The only general population homeless shelter in the county was built in 1930, has only 38 beds and lacks separate living areas for men, women and families. In addition, it has no yard for children to play in and is not accessible to those with disabilities.
“We realized our current shelter was not sufficient,” said Stephen Carattini, Charities’ chief operating officer. “It’s very old, poorly located and hard to get to.”
The Guadalupe Community Center is four times the size of the old center and dramatically improves resident privacy. It has three floors and 60 beds—a 58 percent increase over the old shelter. There is a dorm for 24 single men, a dorm for six single women, and six individual family rooms (one of which can be used for special-needs residents) that can accommodate up to five people each. Another key feature of the center is that it houses service providers from other agencies, such as health providers and tutors for children. These service providers, administrators said, are an integral part in the center’s one-stop approach to helping those in need.
Charities’ administrators credit the people of Weld County with making the shelter possible, noting that despite tough economic times, the community, along with Catholic Charities, rallied together to raise more than $4 million to make the center—which was designed by John Dengler & Associates and constructed by Hensel Phelps Construction Company—a reality.
Kearns-Hout spearheaded the project by assembling a committee of supporters that consisted of more than 30 civic and faith leaders.
“The Weld County effort is truly an outstanding example of what God can do when Catholic Charities and a community come together to make a difference in the lives of those who need it the most,” said Jonathan Reyes, president and CEO of Catholic Charities. “It is a great joy to see the fulfillment of what two years ago was just a dream.”
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