Author: Debbie Kelley Special to the Courier
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Silver Key hopes to build ‘iconic’ Monument community center on pledged land
A few weeks after securing a new place for its offices and activity center to land following unexpected displacement from its previous location at an old school, the Silver Key Tri-Lakes Senior Center has bigger news. If all goes as planned, the relocated center, which as of Aug. 4 is inside Monument Community Presbyterian Church,…
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Colorado Springs shelter for homeless teens indefinitely closes
El Paso County’s only licensed overnight shelter for homeless teens is closing indefinitely as of Sept. 5, The Place’s Interim CEO Mimi Brown said Friday. Funding uncertainty and a lack of grants that help fund the shelter led to the decision, she said. “A shelter is very expensive to run because of licensing and training…
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Sober Soiree
The Sober Soirèe, southern Colorado’s largest non-alcoholic bash, will be held Sept. 13 and this year will culminate the new Sober Week 2025 observance, which Colorado Springs City Council is proclaiming on Tuesday.
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Dr. James Dobson remembered for his compassionate ways and steadfast Christian testimony
Dr. James Dobson, founder of Colorado Springs-headquartered Focus on the Family, will be remembered as a compassionate soul who had a gift for empathizing with grief-stricken people and walking with anyone going through life’s difficulties. He was known to shed tears upon hearing of an unknown family’s loss of a child, current Focus President Jim…
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Former Colorado Springs school transformed into transitional apartments for homeless families
Children’s laughter again will fill the hallways of an old elementary school in the Hillside neighborhood that closed nine years ago, but the kids won’t be in classes, they’ll be right at home with their parents. Helen Hunt Elementary School at 601 S. Institute St. is now Hunt Family Housing, a 24-unit transitional apartment complex…
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Pikes Peak United Way adds another food pantry in northern Colorado Springs
Pikes Peak United Way is opening another free mobile food pantry starting Thursday at a northern Colorado Springs location. Springs Church, 1515 Auto Mall Loop, will host the food distribution in its parking lot from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. every third Thursday of each month starting this week. “This additional location demonstrates that hunger…
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Street medicine team delivers lifesaving care through county’s only homeless respite program
A dynamic germ-fighting duo is helping people who live on the streets win the battle of recovering from wounds, illnesses and hospitalizations with the efficacy and empathy of having been there themselves. Because they have. “I’ve got one word for them — phenomenal,” growled John Burchfield, a former Marine who said he went “a little crazy”…
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New early education center breaks ground in Colorado Springs
Many very important adults attended Thursday’s groundbreaking for an $8 million renovation of a downtown Colorado Springs building that’s in sight of the Weidner Field soccer stadium and in the midst of a future residential development. But it was the tykes the new Alice Bemis Taylor Center for Early Education will serve when it opens…
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Colorado Springs homeless family shelter to close half its beds as need surges
The annual Point in Time headcount of El Paso County’s homeless population taken one frigid night in January showed a large and record-high jump in numbers this year, leading to the conclusion that the community needs more emergency shelter beds. But, facing a more than $1 million budget shortfall, one key provider says it has…
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Developer of affordable tiny homes for young adults in Colorado Springs needs help
Stalled by the domino effect of delayed or no-show grants from state and federal coffers, the organization behind affordable tiny homes for low-wage essential workers and young adults exiting homelessness hopes the community will come through with donations. We Fortify, a nonprofit land developer and “social impact community builder” has launched a $6.2 million capital…