Senior Support Services

Annual Report for the Year 2007

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 1200 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, 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 54 seniors
• Daily hot lunch for an average of 106 seniors
• Daily hot dinner for an average of 64 seniors
• Mid-day meal on Sundays for an average of 97 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.

2007 Accomplishments

Overall
Provided services to 1,180 unduplicated homeless and low-income seniors

Nutrition
Served 63,284 individual meals Distributed 1944 emergency food bags

Other Basic Needs
Distributed 3400 clothing items Distributed 7300 hygiene items

Housing
With a direct rent payment, obtained or retained housing for 64 seniors
Through tenant-landlord mediation or contacting area landlords, retained or obtained housing on 1300 occasions
Provided direct utility payments on behalf of 157 seniors
Physically moved the belongings of 74 seniors
Provided on-site storage for 114 homeless seniors

Government Benefits
Obtained or retained government benefits on 1040 occasions

Transportation
Distributed 21,000 bus tokens
Sold 377 discounted bus passes
Drove/Escorted seniors to 1376 medical appointments, government offices, shopping trips, home, etc.

Health
Weekly visits by two mental health professionals who provided counseling
Weekly visits by a health care outreach worker who helped or enrolled 149 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 35 seniors

Employment and Life Skills
Clients benefited from 5464 computer hours (word processing, email, Internet)
Obtained jobs for 82 seniors

Socialization
TV Room
Monthly billiards tournaments and free pool everyday
Annual Holiday Party with a special meal and special gifts distributed