Senior Support Services
Click here to view our 2008 Annual Report (PDF).
Click here to view our 2008 Audit (PDF).
Brief History of Organization
Senior Support Services (SSS) was established in 1976 when six churches in downtown Denver came together to assist low-income and homeless seniors who were being displaced by downtown redevelopment. As the need grew, our services expanded. In 1979, we began to provide day shelter, coffee, one hot meal per day and case management services to assist seniors in obtaining benefits and finding affordable housing. In 1995, SSS bought a building at 18th Avenue & Emerson Street where the full range of services – one-stop shopping – are provided for hungry and homeless seniors.
Mission
Our mission is to make each day better and safer for Denver’s low-income and homeless seniors by providing the resources and support they need to lead more self-sufficient and fulfilling lives.
Programs
Our overall goal each year is to meet the full range of needs of more than 1300 hungry and homeless seniors.
We successfully operate the only day center catering to the needs of the hungry and homeless seniors of the Denver area. Clients get meals, emergency food and clothing, individualized case management, medical care, housing, government benefits, socialization, and activities. We provide:
- Safe daytime shelter located at 18th Avenue & Emerson Street open for 12 hours each weekday and 5 hours on Sundays
- Daily breakfast for an average of 55 seniors
- Daily hot lunch for an average of 125 seniors
- Daily hot dinner for an average of 62 seniors
- Mid-day meal on Sundays for an average of 110 seniors
- Emergency food and clothing banks
- Access to medical care, health screenings and mental health care
- Transportation and escort to medical appointments, shopping, errands
- Access to computers and Internet for word processing, email, etc.
- Individualized case management and advocacy including:
-- Government benefits obtainment
-- Assistance in obtaining and retaining low-income housing
-- Rent and utility payment assistance
-- Tenant-landlord dispute mediation
-- Financial management counseling to prevent homelessness.
Accomplishments
(for the year ending 12/31/08)
Overall
*Provided services to 1,355 low-income and homeless seniors
Nutrition
*Served 62,838 individual meals
*Distributed 1,497 emergency food bags
Other Basic Needs
*Distributed 1,859 clothing items
*Distributed 2,207 hygiene items
Housing
*With a direct rent payment, obtained or retained housing for 180 seniors
*Through tenant-landlord mediation, retained or obtained housing on 1,900 occasions
*Provided direct utility payments on behalf of 188 seniors
*Physically moved the belongings of 45 seniors
*Provided on-site storage for 106 homeless seniors
Government Benefits
*Obtained or retained government benefits on 520 occasions
Transportation
*Distributed 15,000 free bus tokens
*Sold 384 sharply discounted bus passes
*Drove/Escorted seniors to 981 medical appointments, government offices, shopping trips, home, etc.
Health
*Weekly visits by a mental health professional who provided counseling
*Weekly visits by a health care outreach worker who helped or enrolled 129 clients in the Colorado Indigent Care Program at Denver Health
*Semimonthly visits by the mobile Health Outreach Program (HOP) van of the Stout Street Clinic
*3 times/month visits by nurses who provided foot care, health screenings and checkups
*Arranged for free eye exams & eyeglasses for 15 seniors
Employment and Life Skills
*Clients benefited from 13,520 computer hours (word processing, email, Internet)
*Obtained jobs for 21 seniors
Socialization
*TV Room
*Monthly billiards tournaments and free pool everyday
*Annual Holiday Party with a special meal and special gifts distributed.
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