As Colorado prepares to be buried in snow this weekend, Samaritan House homeless shelter in downtown Denver is working hard to ensure that nobody who comes seeking refuge is turned away.
Samaritan House staff mobilized to collect blankets, prepare extra meals, and stock up on snow removal before a record-breaking storm is anticipated to send more women and families seeking safety and warmth inside its downtown shelter.
Hundreds of people experiencing homelessness are expected to seek help from the shelter, a ministry of Catholic Charities of Denver that is the largest provider of shelter for single women. Staff prepared by assembling more winter clothing, blankets, and coordinated with its chefs to plan for more warm meals and sack lunches.
Mike Sinnett, Vice President of Shelters and Community Outreach, said the situation could be critical if an influx of people need clothing, warmth and food during the storm. Online donations made to Samaritan House’s website will help staff provide through the dangerous weather this weekend.
“We must continue preparations to ensure our most vulnerable neighbors in need have safety and warmth,” Sinnett said. “Any way the community can help and give donations for those facing the hardships and unbearable temperatures of this storm would be greatly appreciated. I invite the everyone to share compassion and mercy to those most in need.”
The homeless shelter is known for stepping up in times of extreme weather. During the 2019 “Bomb Cyclone,” which ironically hit Colorado on the same day as tomorrow’s forecasted snowstorm – March 13 – Samaritan House lent the Denver Rescue Mission a hand when their power went out, leaving hundreds of homeless seeking shelter without electricity or heat. Samaritan House opened their doors, provided meals and even arranged for transportation to their Smith Road shelter where space was made and beds, cots and mats were utilized for everyone who needed a place to sleep.
“It’s just something you do as a service community,” Sinnett said. “You come together to take care of the less fortunate and those that are in need. The Rescue Mission would’ve done the same thing for us. That’s just the cooperation and partnership we have with them.”
Samaritan House provides overnight beds, warm meals and clothing, case management and support for single women, families, veterans and others in need. Catholic Charities of Denver also runs the Samaritan House Women’s Emergency Shelter, The Mission in Fort Collins, Guadalupe Community Center in Greeley, and Marisol Homes in Lakewood.
Catholic Charities asks the community to make online donations at samhousedenver.org/donate.