After his wife died in Texas five years ago, Richard Travelstead was en route to his son’s home in Seattle when health problems indefinitely sidelined him in Colorado Springs.

The now 77-year-old married a woman who he says took all of his money. He was sick and broke when El Paso County Sheriff’s deputies tried to arrest him on an outstanding warrant for not showing up to traffic court. He collapsed and was taken to the hospital instead of the jail.

Deputies pointed Travelstead, who served 24-years in the Navy, in Silver Key’s direction, a move that Travelstead gave him a glimmer of hope to join his family in the northwest.

“I had absolutely no money, no food and no place to stay. That very day, within 30 minutes, they had me in a motel with rent paid and grocery giftcards,” Travelstead said.

Silver Key provides a litany of services for underprivileged seniors in the Pikes Peak Region, everything from grocery and clothing vouchers to transportation and basic companionship. It is one of 15 area charities receiving grants from The Gazette-El Pomar Empty Stocking Fund.

A week after Travelstead contacted Silver Key, who helped him pay rent at a motor home park and buy groceries, he was diagnosed with throat cancer. He was again bed-ridden and alone until Silver Key employees and volunteers tracked him down and visited him in the hospital.

“That’s something you just don’t expect, especially from the CEO himself,” Travelstead said.

Now that he’s recovering, he gets visits at least weekly from Silver Key volunteers, who also helped him get a power wheelchair to get around while he waits for medical clearance to drive again.

Travelstead estimates that in all, Silver Key has given him $1,500 worth of assistance.

“It’s for any senior that gets in trouble. There’s not a bunch of red tape, there’s not a bunch of waiting time. If you need help, they do it right then,” he said. “I wouldn’t have made it without them. I would have been homeless down at the Salvation Army/”

Air Force football head coach Troy Calhoun keeps time during sprints on a Tuesday morning practice at the Air Force Academy on Tuesday, August 4, 2009. Photo by JERILEE BENNETT, THE GAZETTE FILE

Jerilee Bennett