Fast Facts

• The 3,000-square-foot Welcome Center serves as the only point of entry to the Springs Rescue Mission campus, increasing safety and creating a safe space for men and women as they work to overcome homelessness, poverty and addiction.
• The Community of Hope capital campaign garnered $18 million of community investment to add 450 shelter beds, a day center, a resource center, a 185-seat kitchen and dining hall, showers, laundry facilities and a sprawling courtyard area.
• It cost $3.26 million to complete the last phase of construction on the campus.
• These events coincide with the 25th anniversary of Springs Rescue Mission.

On Thursday, April 29, Springs Rescue Mission will celebrate the grand opening of a 3,000-square-foot Welcome Center designed to streamline its intake operations, provide a better guest experience, add several new amenities and serve as the only point of entry to campus.

The opening of the new Welcome Center marks the completion of SRM’s six-year, 18-million Community of Hope capital campaign to create a homeless resource campus in downtown Colorado Springs. The last phase — which brought the campus to completion — also included completely enclosing the campus and creating a sprawling courtyard area. It cost $3.26 million.

“The Welcome Center will be the starting point for those on a journey of redemption and transformation,” said President and CEO Jack Briggs. “It is also transformational for the entire campus. A single point of entry provides us the opportunity to know our clients and tailor services to better help them. Most importantly — as a Christ-centered, low-barrier rescue mission — it helps us meet them at their need with God’s unconditional love.”

The new facility occupies the ground floor of 5 W. Las Vegas St. The space was formerly used by Samaritan’s Kitchen and Dining Hall, which moved into a new building last September.

The Welcome Center provides:

• One entry point to protect guests from drugs, alcohol, weapons, predators and disease;
• A mail room for the 1,000+ individuals who use SRM as their primary mailing address;
• Lockers and bike racks to ensure the safety and security of guests’ belongings;
• Kennels and a dog run where pets can have nightly shelter and get exercise to stay well;
• A central reception where guests receive guidance and direction toward services.

“Our experience tells us this expanded campus will be more effective in addressing the needs of those who are homeless, addicted and impoverished,” Briggs said. “By providing basic shelter — as well as integrated housing, health and work services — we create space for them to focus on the issues that have driven them to the streets.”

Since the capital campaign began in 2015, the community — primarily via grants and private donations — has invested $18 million to help the Mission expand both physically and programmatically. That growth has included the construction of several new buildings, including:

Shelter facilities that have increased SRM’s bed capacity from 37 to 450;
Resource Center to provide day shelter and essential services to thousands annually; and
Samaritan’s Kitchen and Dining Hall, which serves an average of 700 meals each day.

“Springs Rescue Mission has done a remarkable job providing services to our most vulnerable residents for the past five years,” said Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers. “During that time, the campus has evolved from a simple shelter to a robust offering of wrap-around services that offer not just warmth and safety, but also a path to exiting homelessness for many. We are incredibly grateful for the dedication and service that they provide and congratulate them on continuing to improve their service to their residents and to the community.”

Colorado Springs-based Echo Architecture + Interiors designed the new Welcome Center and local firm GE Johnson Construction was the general contractor.