ALC’s street outreach program helps you where you are. This may include things like providing a winter coat or sleeping to someone living outside, helping you evaluate options for getting housed, connecting you with county resources, and more. Street outreach helps you make sure your basic needs are met even when your housing situation is unstable.

Coordinated entry is a process that aims to standardize the way individuals and families at risk of homelessness or experiencing homelessness request assistance, undergo a need assessment, and get referrals to the services that they need for housing stability.

In Lake County, this means you can walk into any door of a service provider if you’re homeless or at risk of becoming homeless and get connected to resources to get you back into stable and safe housing.

The research proves over and over again that the best way to end homelessness is to prevent it from happening in the first place. For eligible individuals, the Bridge Homelessness program can provide temporary financial assistance to keep individuals from losing their homes. Rental assistance and eviction prevention are paid directly to the landlord while we work with you to identify a long-term solution for stable housing. Eligibility criteria include length of time living in Lake County, income, and other factors.

Surviving homelessness can be a full-time job. No one should have to go through that alone. Our homelessness services team can support you by staying by your side as you create a gameplan, identify resources that may work for you and your situation, get connect you to benefits, research and apply for housing options, and more. Virtually all of our clients receive case management and resource navigation support.

Bridge Haven will be operated and managed by the Bridge Homelessness Services Program of the Advocates of Lake County. Its operations are informed by the Leadville/Lake County Homelessness Task Force and the Bridge’s Lived Experience Advisory Group. The Advocates have been successfully operating a local shelter for victims and survivors of violence since 2012, as well as a crisis hotline for over 40 years. ALC instituted the Bridge Program in February 2024 to address our community’s growing homelessness emergency.

The Bridge implements a Housing First model, providing appropriate housing interventions determined by each household’s unique level of need. Since its founding, the Bridge has been successfully moving unhoused individuals into stable housing through our Transitional Housing Program, as well as keeping our housing-insecure neighbors in their housing through our Homelessness Prevention Program. While Bridge Haven’s primary mission is to provide emergency shelter, it will also provide access to the Bridge’s Coordinated Entry program, giving clients a chance to enter a referral network of supportive services including possible long-term housing.

Bridge Haven is meant to provide low-barrier emergency shelter to the most vulnerable citizens in our community. While residents of Leadville/Lake County will be given priority, others will also be considered eligible. Proof of need will not be required, and guests may self-identify as needing shelter. Beds will primarily be filled through a referral process from local partners participating in the Coordinated Homelessness Response Team (which include all local non-profits, the school district, the library, and DHS). As such, the majority of Bridge Haven Guests are local folks who are already known to us. Many are working poor who have been priced out of their housing and need time to plan next steps.

Bridge Haven is an overnight-only shelter, which is standard for such operations. During the day, guests will likely go to work, school, the public library, St. Geroge Episcopal Church’s community meals, or wherever they currently spend their days. In extreme weather, they will also have access to the indoor warming room at the Bridge’s main location on East 5^th street.

As a low-barrier shelter meant to keep community members safe during punishing winter weather, the only requirement is to report the need for shelter to a local agency for referral. Guests are not required to be sober or in treatment. However, absolutely no drugs, alcohol, or tobacco are allowed on the premises (including vaping).

Guests may be denied shelter for the following reasons:

1. Guest has a restraining order against them that prohibits admission.
2. Guest is displaying violent or threatening behavior (including verbally).
3. Guest is not ambulatory enough to get in and out of bed on their own, as well as take care of hygiene needs independently.
4. Guest has an infectious disease or appears to otherwise be ill and poses a threat to themselves and other clients.

Children will be allowed to stay only when accompanied by their family unit, and the family unit will be given their own secure room. No unaccompanied children will be allowed at Bridge Haven.

Parking will be available in the lot immediately adjacent to the building. No street parking will be allowed in the neighborhood. In the event the off-street parking lot is full, we will provide clients with maps to public parking in town so they can park their vehicle in an approved location There will be no sleeping in vehicles, or pets in vehicles, allowed.

The perimeter of the building will be protected by 5 external security cameras with a continuous feed. These cameras will cover not only the immediate area of the building, but street view of the surrounding area. There will also be 3 cameras covering the interior of the building. Lake County Police Department has been looped into shelter planning, and have agreed to an increased patrol presence in the neighborhood.

Studies show that when vulnerable citizens are connected to basic human services (like food and shelter) they are less likely to commit crimes. Our hope is that there will be no tangible impacts to the neighborhood, and we will work towards that goal. We will need to rely on feedback from neighbors if/when something goes awry, and we commit to working with the neighbors to achieve a non-disruptive operation.

All large meta-analyses (multiple independent studies addressing a common research question) show no correlation between property values and a nearby shelter operation. There are a few studies that do show a correlation, but we do not believe these are applicable to Bridge Haven, as they are in large urban areas like Manhattan, San Francisco, Phoenix, and Denver. Furthermore, we do not anticipate being at this location for more than 2-3 years; we are working toward a long-term plan with a permanent location.

It is also worth noting that property values fluctuate significantly during housing booms and busts. Leadville is currently in a housing boom, which inflates property values. At some point, property values will recalibrate as they always do, but the evidence indicates this will not have anything to do with the presence of a shelter, but rather the normal ups and downs of the housing market.

Assuming we get the requisite approvals from the City, we will begin the long process of bringing the site up to code and making it habitable, which will take several months. During the renovation, we will host an open-house and a community meeting to be sure we incorporate these important perspectives into the planning and implementation process. Although we wish could shelter folks at the site during Winter 2024-2025 during extreme cold snaps or weather events, this is a complex project with multiple phases that cannot be rushed.

At this time, we project to be fully operational by November 1, 2025. This gives us plenty of time to listen to community concerns and ensure our operating plan and policies fully address all needs, including those unique to Lake County. As noted above, in the event of a natural disaster or other crisis between now and then, we will work with Lake County Emergency Services to determine whether the shelter is needed for crisis response.