ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS
HOMELESS REGAIN SELF-SUFFICIENCY, BY PAUL WILLIS

Give a homeless person a few bucks, catch him up on his bills and provide him an apartment, and boom, the problem is solved, right? Hardly.

Studies indicate that when a person is rescued from the street, 50 percent of the time that individual will end up homeless again, said Page Peary, CEO of Denver-based New Genesis. Clients of New Genesis, though, have recorded a success rate of about 70 percent.

That's because New Genesis gets to the root of the problem, whether it is drug abuse, alcoholism, financial instability or other challenges.

The agency helped 50-year-old Charles Feely get back on his feet. "I lost my apartment because of my health and a few bad money decisions," said Feely, who has diabetes. "Then I got a few stupidity tickets and lost my driver's license."

Feely, a carpenter and painter, had a vehicle that was unregistered. When he took it to get an emissions test, he exchanged the license plates from his older vehicle, hoping no one would notice. He got caught.

Feely wound up at New Genesis and has retooled his focus.

"New Genesis' mission is first to provide safety to an individual," Peary said, "then, through a series of stages, challenge that individual to become self-sufficient."

Here's how the process works: In phase one, New Genesis requires the individual to focus on finding and maintain stable employment. Individuals must attend three orientation meetings that go over the rules of the shelter and get them used to the idea of independent living. They live at the shelter in one of the mass bedrooms and must pay $42 a week for rent.

The goal is to get a week ahead in rent before moving to the second phase. At that point, meetings are reduced to once a week, the structure is loosened and self-sufficiency and support systems are developed. Individuals also must strive to create a savings account. It takes an average of four or five months for someone to advance to the final stage.

Step three is the transitional housing phase. Individuals are moved from the shelter to one of New Genesis' 47 apartments for men - there also are 24 available for the women's program - with a roommate. A client can opt to live alone in a different location.

Director of client services Kammie Carroll helps this transition, and she can empathize with every person. That's because Carroll used to be a client herself. "It's a tremendous feeling," said Carroll who regained her credit and children because of New Genesis. "Very fulfilling and very rewarding."

Peary's goal is to eventually limit the number of "older individuals walking down the streets of Denver with a shopping cart" by heading off homelessness where it begins.

"We're in a position to help folks who are younger and the new homeless," Peary said. "They may have been in the criminal justice system and they're coming to the streets of Denver without a support system. Allowing them to regain a sense of pride and sense of independence is a far better gift than to give them a house or hand them the keys to an apartment."

Feely, in his third month at New Genesis, seems to agree. "It's made things more stable and made me look at things a lot differently," he said. I found out about so many things that can help you that I never knew about."

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