With four children, no job and no place to live, Jill Smith turned to the Denver Rescue Mission for assistance, like thousands of others needing a strong safety net in one of the worst economies in decades. “It got to the point where I had no idea what I would do,” said Smith, 35, as she was enjoying a hot dinner on a cold evening at The Crossing, a former motel on Smith Road that used to serve the former Stapleton Airport.

About 90 rooms at The Crossing are occupied by families and single men and women in the Rescue Mission’s transitional housing program. These 340 residents pay rent and adults take classes on topics including money management, “healthy relationships,” and getting and holding a job.

The Crossing also is home to about 130 men in the Mission’s New Life Program. They get work therapy, education, counseling and other services to help them overcome addiction, homelessness and other problems, said Steve Walkup, vice president of programs and ministries.

With a budget of nearly $22 million a year, the 117-year-old Rescue Mission — backed by the generosity of hundreds of large and small donors — supports at least a half-dozen programs and facilities for the needy in metro Denver.

The best known is the Lawrence Street Shelter, just off Broadway in downtown Denver, which provides emergency shelter, meals, clothing and medical care to hundreds of people daily.

Some refer to it as the “Jesus Saves” shelter, because of the neon sign that hangs from the building. The Rescue Mission also operates Champa House, a long-term rehabilitation program and residence for single mothers and their children, and Harvest Farm in Wellington, a working farm and rehabilitation program for men. “Our goal is to help people become productive, self-sufficient citizens, yet in this economy — with the few jobs that are out there — it’s hard to do,” Walkup said.

Employers who need workers should call the Rescue Mission and see if its clients, with their new skills and motivation, can fill the employment needs of businesses, Walkup said.

Smith and her children, Jonathin, 15, William, 14, Amythyst, 11, and Jacob, 9, have been living at The Crossing for 14 months. Amythyst attends Envision Leadership Prep, a charter school within Denver Public Schools, and her favorite subject is science. Nine-year-old Jacob is a fourth-grader at Lowry Elementary who especially loves shinnying up ropes in gym class.
Jill Smith also is climbing, following her youngest son’s lead. She is close to having what she needs to “graduate” from the Rescue Mission’s transitional housing program — an amount in savings equal to 100 percent of the family’s monthly income and completion of a required number of classes.
“My hope is to get a house somewhere for us,” Smith said.