Community Voices: Denver Rescue Mission

Except from the interview:

PAUL: Denver Rescue Mission is changing lives. Meeting people at their physical and spiritual points of need, with the goal of returning them to society as productive, self-sufficient citizens. The mission has been serving the most vulnerable in our community for 133 years on multiple occasions through our community. They help restore the lives of people experiencing homelessness and addiction through emergency services, rehabilitation, transitional programs, and community outreach. In each of the past three years, Denver Rescue Mission has provided over 1,000,000 meals to the individuals who walk through the doors while providing nightly to over 11,000 people. Moreover, the mission found stable living for 574 households just last year. And from Denver Rescue Mission joining us today, public relations manager, Stephen Hinkel. Stephen, thank you.

STEPHEN: Oh, it's a pleasure to be here. Just hearing you read off those stats just, you know, fills my soul that we're doing really good work here in Denver and the best city in the country, I will say—Rocky Mountains and everything else. But there is definitely a reality. There are a lot of people right now living on the streets and who are struggling. And the mission has been helping people, like you said, for over 133 years. And we're moving people into households, whether that's, you know, kids or moms or dads or single people. Like, we are helping people all across this city. And it's just a great, great thing that we are doing, and I'm happy here to talk about as much as you want.

PAUL: Well, I want to hear a little back story.

STEPHEN: Oh, okay.

PAUL: Tell me about you.

STEPHEN: So, funny story about me. I grew up in a really small town in Lancaster, PA. Amish country for some of them those individuals out there when they hear the phrase Lancaster, and homelessness wasn't something that I ever saw. I grew up in a town with no red lights, and I'll never forget the first time I started helping people experiencing homelessness.

I was in Los Angeles just over 25 years ago, and I was talking to one of the individuals who was in the rehabilitation program at the mission I was volunteering at, and he said to me, he's like, “Stephen, Skid Row here in Los Angeles is the closest thing to a third world country America will ever have.” And it just really kind of broke me because I'm from an area with farm fields, and I just didn't ever think that “third world,” countries ever existed in the US, and it just really struck me that, yeah, it kind of is, and it doesn't need to be this way. And that was really was my impetus to start helping people experiencing homelessness is to take one small step to help people who are in a really tough situation to help them get out of it.

PAUL: So, you said 20 years ago you were working in a mission.

STEPHEN: Volunteering at that time.

PAUL: Volunteering. What got you on that — what road were you on before you decided to work with missions?

STEPHEN: Well, my whole goal when I was in college, seemingly three decades ago, was to be a Sports Center anchor on ESPN, and my journalism degree led me to a different path, and I’m actually very glad that it has. I really honestly believe with all my heart I live in the best city in the country and I'm doing the work that is helping people that need the most assistance. And to see people get back on their feet after they've been in a really steep valley in their life — to see them succeed again, to get a job, to get off drugs or alcohol, whatever, you know, they're going through — to see them back on those mountain peaks, so to speak, it gives me a lot of, you know, just joy and pleasure to be part of an organization that is helping, in my opinion once again, the best city in the country. But I would just say, moreover, I have some lived experiences like people who experience homelessness. I just celebrated 20 years of sobriety two weeks ago.

PAUL: Wow, congratulations.

STEPHEN: Thank you. I appreciate that, and I — it's not about me for the record — but I just really have a heart for people that, you know, are trying to get back on their feet, because at any given time in this country, so many people are one paycheck away. Especially with the way that cost of living has increased so much in these last, you know, few months, several years, however, you want to look at it.

Too many people are one paycheck away, and at the end of the day, a community thrives. when we're helping each other. And that's what the mission is doing. We are helping people who are just in a really tough spot, and for me it's personal because, like I said, I could have been that person if I just didn't get a hold of my addiction to alcohol. But I got rid of that, and now I'm 20 years sober, and because I know life change can happen, and we're making life change at Denver Rescue Mission.

PAUL: And by the way, Stephen and I were talking about running. He's a runner.

STEPHEN: I am a runner.

PAUL: A serious marathon runner. How long have you been running?

STEPHEN: I have been running for nearly two decades.

PAUL: Oh, right, when you decided to make this change.

STEPHEN: When I stopped drinking alcohol, correct. I never really thought running would take me where it has. Total side note to what I do at the mission, I have been very privileged enough to get to the finish line of nine ultra marathons, two of which will have the 100 mile distance.

PAUL: Oh, my goodness.

STEPHEN: So, I have beat up my body, but I have challenged myself in ways that most people don't, and I'm really proud of the fact that I've gotten to the finish line of these ultra marathons. I have done the Leadville 100, which is one of the more famous 100s in this country, and I've done an up and coming 100 mile outside of Buena Vista called the High Lonesome 100, which I would highly recommend to anybody who is thinking about entering the trail running space. Those are two really great races.

But what running has shown me is you can challenge yourself more than you think you can. You are stronger than you think you are because in each of these ultra marathons that I've done, there's been points where I'm like, I don't want to do this anymore. The satisfaction, the short-term satisfaction of quitting, felt really, really good in that moment, wherever I was at — mile 45 or mile 32. But when I got to the finish line and accomplished a goal that seemingly was impossible just a few hours earlier, it really helps you realize that you are stronger than what you are, and that's what we're doing. you know, at the mission as well. Like we're showing men and women — and even children for that matter — that they're stronger than what they think they are. And like, if they just continue to push through the uncomfortableness of what they're going through, there is another side to their life, and it's a side that's going to be a part of a bigger story that's going to help people down the road who helps another person, who helps another person.

PAUL: So, when someone hits rock bottom and decides to — they can just walk into the doors.

STEPHEN: Absolutely. Come on down to our downtown location. I mean, we're three blocks, four blocks, down from Coors Field, and our staff is going to welcome you and take you through a process of asking you a handful of questions that will take about 30 or 45 minutes just to see where you're at in that specific moment and what brought you to our services. And at that point, we will then help direct and guide you to what your best next step might be. And I say that we try to make it as individualized as possible. That can be a very challenging thing to do when you're sheltering about 1250 people every night, but everybody comes to homelessness in their own unique way. And the way to get yourself out of homelessness through your own unique way. And we have clinicians on our staff. You can get case management at one of at some of our locations that's going to help you as an individual. We're just not going to throw a blanket over the whole situation and be like, “This is the one way to get out of homelessness.” No, no, no, no, no. Everybody comes to homelessness differently and how they exit it is also different.

PAUL: Do you have a story?

STEPHEN: How many — how many hours do you have to share a story with? Oh, my goodness.

PAUL: Because I know you've probably seen — how long you been with Denver Rescue Mission?

STEPHEN: Uh, three years as an employee.

PAUL: Okay. How long have you been in mission work?

STEPHEN: 20. I mean, like I said, I started volunteering about 20 years ago. I started — like I said, I wanted to be on ESPN. I was going to work in sports.

PAUL: Okay, what happened? What happened? What changed your direction? Was it just a moment? Did you hit rock bottom and say, “Okay…"

STEPHEN: Oh man, you are making me go back.

PAUL: What flipped the switch?

STEPHEN: I just knew that there was something bigger out there than sports. And that’s a really generalized way of looking at it. And don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with people who work in sports and our fans. I still am a fan of sports. Unfortunately, I do cheer for the Rockies right now, but they're going to get better at some point. But at the end of the day, I just was like I wanted to do something that felt meaningful to the same way that people worked with me 20 plus years ago to help me get on the path that I'm currently on, if that makes any sense.

And you want to hear a story, I can tell you a story. There is a gentleman — he just graduated a rehabilitation program three weeks ago if I'm putting the timeline correctly. And I asked him where would he be right now if he didn't find the rehabilitation program at the mission. And he said, “I’d be dead.” He’s like, “If I was not accepted into the rehab program, I don't think I'd be here. I would probably be dead.”

And I don't mean to make that so down, but it does go to show you, like, when you as a person who is experiencing something really hard — when you're addicted to drugs, you're addicted to alcohol — but if you can really just pull through those tough situations and continue to put yourself in uncomfortable situations and work with your clinician, work with your case manager, work with the staff who will wrap their arms around you, you can get out of that spot, and you can go — once again like you read the start, you can be a productive member of society once again. And to hear stories like that to see him and just weeping with joy and happiness and gratitude, that's why we do this work. Because that man who was once in a really tough spot who just thought drugs and alcohol was the only way to go, once again is now a productive member of — once again — the greatest city in the country.

PAUL: Wow, that is a wonderful story. So, I guess we can assume causes of homelessness. You know, loss of income. Mental illness. What are some other things that we don't know?

STEPHEN: So, the number one reason — when you come to our services, we do ask individuals, “How have you found yourself to be in a homeless situation that you're in?” And the top answer we get is something underneath the umbrella of a cost-of-living situation. After that, there is usually something related to a drug or an alcohol type of situation as well. Underemployment: “My paycheck is not supporting me in the manner that I needed to support me just so I can rent a studio apartment.”

We have people that use our services every day that we shelter every night who have full-time jobs, and what they're doing right now is they're trying to build up their income, trying to get their finances in order. Pay maybe some back bills, or any debt that they might have so they can get back on their feet and find that rent, find that maybe house down the road that they need.

So, you're asking what the number one — what the reasons of homelessness are. It's usually something under the veil of a financial issue. Medical debt is also a huge thing that causes people to, you know, experience homelessness. “I couldn't go to work for two weeks because I had some health-related issue,” and then they didn't have enough time built up and they lose their job. And then before you know it, they could potentially be in an unhoused situation. There are, like I said, numerous ways to become homeless. Our job as a mission is to find the numerous ways to get you back into housing.

PAUL: We're talking with Stephen Hinkel, public relations manager of Denver Rescue Mission here. Stephen, what is the biggest venture the mission is currently undertaking?

STEPHEN: Oh man, the biggest venture is actually not Denver-related, to be quite honest with you. We are in the process of a capital campaign in Northern Colorado. We are looking to build a 250-person homeless resolution center. This will have a shelter for sure, so individuals can use our services at night. They have a warm, safe, secure bed to sleep in, but they can also get case management at this place. They can also get counseling at this place. So, we are about 92% of the way to a $27 million project to build a 250-person homeless resolution center in Fort Collins. We already have a mission in Fort Collins that has 88 beds — 89 — but unfortunately, we have outgrown that space, and we need to provide the services that are very much needed in Northern Colorado.

PAUL: What are some ways that someone listening to this right now says, “I want to help? I want to help. How can I help there?”

STEPHEN: There are numerous ways to help, and I'll plug our website, denverrescuemission.org. The two most obvious ways are you can volunteer time. We have roughly 93 volunteer slots.

PAUL: What kind of work, volunteer work?

STEPHEN: Most of the volunteer work would involve some level of the mail service or working in the kitchen, which is definitely needed. We serve over a million meals every single year. Or organizing donations. That's another big way that somebody could volunteer with us. They could also give financially as well. That's obviously a — a vast majority of our funding comes from private donations. And then lastly, I would say one of the unique ways to help if somebody wanted to go to our website — don't go right now because you're maybe driving on I-25 — but we have something called housewarming boxes. And I really want to talk about this for about 30 seconds or so.

Housewarming boxes are the initial utilities and things that you would need when you exit homelessness that you would need in the new place. I'm talking bed sheets, a blanket, spoons, forks. Whatever you would need to potentially cook your dinner that night, because when you exit homelessness and you go to your new place, you most likely don't have the basic necessities that it would require, and our house warming boxes are given, and it's probably upwards of $200 to $300 worth of supplies, shall we say, that will help that person who was experiencing homelessness move into their stable living situation with their basic necessities. And we get those housewarming boxes donated to us by members of the community. And it's a wonderful thing to see men and women who are experiencing homelessness with that box in front of them as they leave our facility for that final time to know that what's in that box is now going to be in your apartment or home.

PAUL: Well, Stephen, I know we've run out of time, but I would love to have you back.

STEPHEN: I'll come back. We have plenty of stories to share.

PAUL: You could run over here and run back. You’re just blocks away.

STEPHEN: I will, I will. Well, the mission’s downtown location is only four blocks away, so it's not too far. I just would like to say to the Denver community, like when you do help us, just know that you're helping the Community that you live in, whether you live in Aurora, Parker, Littleton, Fort Collins, like give back to your community. And the more that you give back, the more that you're going to feel a part of that community.