Community Compassion Outreach

Humanitarian House International contributes the permanent single-family ESSENTIAL HOUSE design & specifications for a 480 ft.sq. 1 & 2-bd and 520 ft.sq. 3 & 4-bd units.

Increased demand for affordable, low-barrier, low-income, and supportive housing updated our plans to build minimum of 60 units in three phases. A village setting with open space is specified to increase stability of housing for tenants. Target populations include chronically homeless, very low-income, below medium income, Youth aging foster care, McKinney-Vento eligible students/families and people on the brink of homelessness. The heterogeneous commuinty is inclusive to our regional demands for critical lack of affordable, low-income housing.

Phases-I starts with 20 units per two-acre lots, which includes carports with storage, guest parking, open spaces between single-family units, and common building (management office, two computer stations for tenants, media lounge, counseling rooms, and large kitchen for commuinty meals.

Our goal is to build an Intentional Compassionate Commuinty with voluntary programs are for improved relationships and behaviors, intensive health care for the most vulnerable, case management, no-to-low barriers in Housing First model. Open spaces around each house provides greater privacy for security and safety of tenants. Mentorship programs will develop commuinty with nearby neighborhoods, building on “community”.

Currently, the program is in land search & acquision. The Village of Hope Development will provide much needed programs to improve health and reduce emergency department over-utilization of the most vulnerable. Programs will be voluntary with the Housing First Model in mind, which promotes stability of housing.

CCO serves the homeless population by protecting their civil rights under the Constitution. We work with ACLU and the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty. As a result, a temporary moratorium was impletemented by the City, which stopped camp ban enforcement between sundown and sunrise.

Retired professionals from mental health, law, social work, real estate and healthcare provide assistance to people experiencing homelessness. In collaboration with healthcare and food services, this new program is providing education for advocates and target population for improved access to vital resources. Building relationships has proven effectiveness in changing behaviors and connecting clients with access to health insurance and medical & mental healthcare. Trust has resulted with one-on-one meetings. This program began January 1, 2019.

Each Saturday afternoon (12:30pm to 2:30pm) at a local park near Manna Soup Kitchen, volunteers share homecooked food and hot beverages with the homeless. We supplement meals between hours of operation at the soup kitchen. We served an average of 15 food-burdened homeless people since we began on December 1, 2018.

We are building close relationships with the homeless who handout and chat with more than six volunteers on any given Saturday.

Restaurants and coffee brewers donate from time-to-time. Volunteers contribute their own resources, which does not require a budget. Donations of used and new clothing, personal items, and camping gear are distributed at the same time.

This program was launched in late 2018 with the goal to educate students of all ages about homelessness & poverty. Students are the link to adults who may influence legislators for much-needed funding for our rural community to increase resources to serve our target population.

We make presentations to students and teachers, to enlist students to create projects for educating the commuinty about homelessness. K-12 students are asked to provide us with artwork or banners or essays about commuinty, family and friendship with students & adults who are unhoused.

We’ve seen results of students asking parents to donate sleeping bags, blankets and clothing. Dialogue about homelessness is important in families. Our challenge is to change the negative attitudes that has kept local government from enacting solutions known to provide shelter during the winter.

Local government officials have been challenged by Colorado ACLU and National Law Center on Homelessness for campbans that criminalize homelessness. We believe that children have direct access to adults with voting power and influence on government.

Early 2019, a local school district called on CCO to collaborate on a housing crises for students & families eligible for McKinney-Vento homelessness. One hundred and eleven (111) students/families are in the McKinney-Vento program in Durango School District 9-R, according to Colorado Education Department.

Students may beliving in hotels, cars, trailers without electricity, heat, and water — or are couch-surfing and camping in the woods. Some students have disenrolled for lack of housing. When they leave to other towns, they return to again search for affordable housing.

Some families may be threatened with separation by Child Protective Services when students are homeless. Our goal is to keep families together with housing that our Village of Hope Development would provide.

This program is in development and networking with students & families will provide us with data to identify housing needs. Durango has serious lack of affordable low-income housing dedicated for the homeless. CCO’s Village of Hope Development is in high demand to keep families together in safe, stable housing.