Changes coming to services at Loveland’s 137 Homeless Connection - Loveland Reporter-Herald

After 13 years of providing services to homeless adults at 137 Homeless Connection, the House of Neighborly Service is changing direction. Earlier this week, the nonprofit organization’s board of directors announced that HNS will discontinue the day center at 137 S. Lincoln Ave. and return the facility to the city of Loveland.

“The 137 Homeless Connection program will continue to serve those experiencing homelessness, but it will not be at the 137 S. Lincoln address,” HNS Executive Director Cherri Houle said. “The 137 team is developing a plan to continue services but in a different capacity — one that continues to be relational and supportive to the individuals.”

The faith-based House of Neighborly Service was founded more than six decades ago and provides direct assistance to local families and individuals in the form of food baskets, utility assistance, prescription assistance and gas vouchers.

In 2009, HNS opened 137 Homeless Connection at the city-leased Lincoln Avenue property, offering showers, laundry, storage and internet services, with counseling and mental assessments also available.

The decision to move on comes in wake of Loveland’s outdoor camping ban, enacted on May 17 to reduce the number of homeless encampments in the city’s natural areas. Before widespread enforcement of the ban begins, the city is working to establish 24-hour shelter sites to accommodate the estimated 100-150 people who will be displaced.

According to Houle, the city and HNS were discussing the possibility of adding overnight services at 137 Homeless Connection, but could not find a model to make that work for both partners.

For Houle, it was a “heart wrenching decision.”

“Our team wants to serve the homeless population, and they have relationships with them, and they care,” she said. “But the mission of doing a 24/7 shelter is a lot of energy and needs a cohesive plan. …Our team just didn’t feel like they could stretch that far.”

Alison Hade, director of the city’s Community Partnership Office, called the decision “thoughtful,” and said it will not impact the city’s ongoing relationship with the group. In addition to serving homeless adults, HNS also receives city funding to operate the Family Promise shelter and other programs targeting low-income residents.

“I was very pleased after I had a conversation with them to understand their decision-making,” she said. “And I definitely felt the depth of their partnership from that as well.”

The 137 Connection day center will continue to operate during the transition, which is expected to start on July 6 and continue through the middle of the month, according to Houle. After that, HNS will be offering services to individuals at its Life Center campus, located at 1511 E. 11th St.

Houle went on to say most of the center’s work focuses on preventing individuals and families from losing their housing in the first place, a fight that could get harder in the coming year, as inflation and housing prices continue to rise.

“Ninety percent of what we do is preventative work, and we’re about 55% up from last year,” she said. “…The best way I can translate it is this: last year, we did 28,558 service visits across everything that we do and we’re if we’re 55% up, we’re looking at possibly heading into 40,000 this year.”

As for Hade, she is now tasked with replacing day center services provided by HNS, while also expanding the 137 Lincoln property to accommodate overnight stays. Most of the details are still being decided, but Hade and her team have begun interviewing staff to take over the space in mid-July.

“It’s a big process, and I don’t have a template for it,” she said. “One of the next steps is to have the staff we hire work directly with their staff; as they’re exiting, we’re onboarding. Our goal is to have a seamless transition.”

In addition to the 137 Lincoln property, the city is in the process of establishing another overnight shelter option at the former wastewater treatment plant, located on Railroad Avenue. According to a news release posted at lovgov.org, cleanup and preparation are underway at the site, and it could open as early as this week.

However, Hade said that timeframe is outdated and unrealistic.

“My first pass is making sure that people have a place to go during the day, because they’ve always had a place to go during the day,” she said, “and continuing to hire staff so that we can appropriately manage and operate a 24-7 program. Without staff, we can’t really do anything.”

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