Springs Rescue Mission leaders are hoping the return of a familiar face will help restore financial stability to Colorado Springs’ largest homeless shelter, as demand for services swells.

Larry Yonker, who was president and CEO from 2013 to 2020, has been hired by a man that Yonker hired to work for him years ago.

Yonker has taken the previous development job that current President and CEO Travis Williams had before he was promoted last December to lead the nonprofit Christian organization.

“Travis and I have always had a close relationship — I worked hard to get him on my team when I was at Springs Rescue Mission and am looking forward to serving him and this community and the people,” Yonker said.

'A critical pivot': Local nonprofits, facing fierce headwinds, look to private sector to fill funding gaps

Yonker is filling a new, temporary and part-time role with the title of interim vice president of advancement. He oversees 10 employees in the advancement department, which includes development, marketing and communications. One of his main tasks is to boost charitable giving, the organization’s primary source of revenue.

“One of the things I really want to do is free Travis to be the CEO and set strategy,” said Yonker, who has 30 years of experience in the nonprofit development field.

“I’ve been in the community since 1977 and certainly I’ll serve the mission with those relationships. I’ll train and mentor this young team and take some of the load off Travis, who will still be involved with fundraising.”

While the organization is continuing to analyze the fiscal year that ended June 30, donor revenue appears to have dropped by $1.2 million, which is a 6%, year-over-year reduction, Williams said. That represents a 10% decrease from what officials expected last year.

Homeless population in Colorado Springs hit record highs, Point in Time survey shows

The reduced annual operating budget for the organization, which offers programs that help people find their way out of homelessness, poverty and addiction, came in at $10.9 million for this fiscal year.

One of the goals of bringing on Yonker for a term of at least one year is to avert continued decline.

“There’s a budget set, and we’ll need to exceed that to meet the city’s needs for homelessness,” Yonker said.

The rescue mission has seen an anomaly in the past few months — what Williams describes as “winter numbers in summer” for clients occupying overnight beds — making the situation critical.

Springs Rescue Mission cuts staff, reorganizes to balance budget

The 15-acre campus south of downtown Colorado Springs has 450 bunkbeds, which normally are only fully occupied during severe weather in winter. The shelter can expand to a capacity of 600 or more. That happens on extremely cold nights, when the shelter opens floor space in other areas such as the dining hall, in order to accept anyone who wants a warm place to sleep. Those nights don’t usually occur very often.

But in recent weeks, occupancy has been averaging 425 people a night, and close to 450 on some, according to Williams. For the rescue mission to have nearly all of its regular bunkbeds full in the summer is not typical, he said.

“It’s not just housing — we help people find a path forward out of homelessness with housing, health, employment and recovery needs, and we’re seeing the growth also reflected in our services,” Williams said.

This year’s Point-in-Time and Housing Inventory Count of the homeless population — in which organizers and volunteers collected data for the night of Jan. 26 and presented the results on July 28 — showed the number of homeless people in El Paso County on that night hit a record high. For years, the count that the federal government mandates to determine funding had yielded a decreasing population.

That, coupled with a $1.5 million budget shortfall that required layoffs of 23 employees and scaling back expenses to balance the budget that began July 1, led Yonker to see if he could help.

Yonker, who in retirement has been coaching small Christian ministries and consulting with other nonprofits on growth strategies, also has been involved with a homelessness committee convened by Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade.

Yonker said he will continue to be tuned in with the big picture of the city’s growing demand, available services and gaps.

“Community challenges take community support is the way we look at things,” Williams said. “It takes thousands of people who want to be part of helping provide compassionate care inspired through community generosity.”