Englewood, Colorado, overnight homeless shelter closes as Bridge House winds down operations

Bridge House’s Englewood location is closing its overnight shelter, and the Boulder-based nonprofit is winding down all of its operations. The Englewood shelter had been open just over a year.

Matthew Carl, who stayed at the shelter, described his life before he arrived as being “stuck in a tunnel, really, where I was living, staying, trying to get out of the elements.” He moved into Bridge House in August and said he was caught off guard when the shelter shut down. Staff told him he needed to find another place to go, and he said they had few options to offer. He also said they helped him find a job and had connected him with a case manager, food, and resources for therapy, medication, and workforce training.

Carl said dozens of other residents were given only a few days’ notice. “Most of those guys, they just are gonna do what they’ve normally done and try and live outside and survive,” he said. Caring for people who have no place to go in a moment like this is a matter of protecting the vulnerable (Proverbs 31:8-9).

When Denver7 South Metro Reporter Danielle Kreutter visited Bridge House the previous Friday, signs said services would end and the front door was locked. Less than a week later, new signs read “Navigation permanently closed.” Denver7 said it requested information and an interview several times over the past week. That request was denied, but Bridge House provided a statement that attributed the closure to the “unpredictability of the current funding landscape.”

In the statement, the organization said that after three decades of serving Front Range communities, its remaining Ready to Work programs would be sunsetting operations. It said it had attempted a restructure beginning in January, following the departure of its then-CEO, and had put a transitional leadership team in place. That restructure included closing Aurora’s Ready to Work property and the Community Table Kitchen social enterprise, and reducing staff earlier this year.

The Tri-Cities Homeless Initiative works with the City of Englewood to offer and fund resources aimed at ending homelessness. Earlier in the week, Tri-Cities told Denver7 that Bridge House had not formally notified it of the closure. Arapahoe County also issued a statement saying it remains committed to addressing homelessness through partnerships and investment in affordable housing and prevention. The county cited its 2025 Point-in-Time count, which found that the number of people newly experiencing homelessness dropped 18 percent and unsheltered homelessness fell 22 percent. It said the overall rate of growth slowed from 47 percent the previous year to 11 percent. The county also said it and its provider partners have a severe weather sheltering plan in place for winter.

The Englewood, Littleton and Sheridan city councils will hold a joint study session with the Tri-Cities Homelessness Policy Group on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 6 p.m. in the Community Room at the Englewood Civic Center. According to the city, the discussion will focus in part on the future of the navigation center, and an agenda will be posted before the meeting. The city said other organizations in the area continue to provide assistance to people experiencing homelessness. Englewood recently launched a local resource guide to help people connect with services still available in the city and surrounding area. City leaders also encourage anyone in need of help to call 2-1-1 for referrals to health and human services.

Source: Read the original report