Colfax Community Network, Inc.

Background Statement

In large cities across the United States, thousands upon thousands of children are growing up in dilapidated motels. These places are deemed as no longer suitable for tourist trade, and have transformed to become the last housing safety net for individuals and families facing poverty and homelessness. This is where crime and chaos thrive, but children, their families and adults do not. Metro Denver is no exception to this phenomenon. Approximately 40 rundown motels line Colfax Avenue, Denver's most notorious, crime-ridden street, and families with children are residents in nearly all of them. The Colfax Community Network was created in 1999 to address the needs of this hidden community by providing services.

The area surrounding CCN has changed considerably over the past 18 years. With the gentrification of the surrounding areas, CCN's service area has become more populated with individuals experiencing even greater need. Through our unique understanding of the needs of this sector of the homeless population, we have developed a service delivery model that sets us apart from other non-profits. While we work hard to serve economically disadvantaged families, we are also the only non-profit in the area to focus on individuals residing in motels. We work with clients to take steps towards self-sufficiency. CCN serves a diverse population of individuals and has noted a dramatic increase in individuals seeking services in the last year alone.