[If you have trouble playing this show at DOM, please try our link at Vimeo:   https://vimeo.com/231770043 ]

In this episode of Far More Colorado, Host Lynne Rawlins talks with Tom Luehrs, Executive Director of the St. Francis Center in Denver. This is their web site: sfcdenver.org/

Below is an excerpt from the St. Francis Center Summer 2017 newsletter, featuring a letter from Mr. Luehrs.

“Summertime and the living is easy!” So goes the song. While that may have been true to some degree at St. Francis Center in the past, times have changed. Now, homelessness is a challenge for people as much in the summer as in any other season of the year. The huge influx of people coming to Denver in search of work has created a dynamic that we have not experienced before. People are finding jobs—including through St. Francis Center Employment Services, which helped 499 people find full-time employment last year—but the lack of safe, affordable housing options poses a huge challenge. Stuck waiting for housing, many people come to St. Francis Center to shower, store their possessions, use our mail service, and to feel grounded in a place until they find a home of their own. St. Francis Center is also often a step in finding housing: last year, we helped 355 people gain housing access. Because of the current job market, many of the people we serve are transitioning out of homelessness more quickly. In 2016, of the more than 10,000 people St. Francis Center served, 8,000 of those were out of services within 34 days or less. But even with this transition, many people still rely on St. Francis Center for community and essential services. As our population’s needs change, we continue to change as well.
I hope you will enjoy catching-up with new developments at St. Francis Center. I also encourage you to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Social Media outlets give us the opportunity to communicate happenings at a greater pace... Tom Luehrs sfcdenver.org/