“Single Mothers Find a Safe Shelter in Denver, CO”
Francine Lange with the American Bible Society writes:
Single mothers in desperate circumstances have limited options when searching for shelter. One Christ-centered program in Denver helps these families at the point of their need. Now, thanks to the ministry of an American Bible Society donor, each woman entering Champa House will receive a specially-designed “Butterfly” New Testament.
On the east side of Denver sits a large red-brick house, its clean-swept cement porch graced with deep red, yellow and white posies. A delicate lace curtain lends a dignified privacy to the glass-windowed front door. To the left, a row of tiny fingers pushes aside the blinds covering a side window, revealing a child with blond bangs, sea-blue eyes and a mischievous grin.
Renovation and Restoration
The neighborhood, on the border of Denver’s notorious Five Points area, is experiencing a steady gentrification, as savvy developers with an eye to the future buy up homes and renovate or gut and rebuild. Although this house shows no outward sign of reworking, the smiling toddler and the other mothers and children living here are experiencing their own restoration — of the heart, mind, body and spirit.
From Rock Bottom to Second Chance
Two-year-old Dylan, his brother Gavin, 8, and their mother Kelly, 27, moved into Champa House nearly a year ago. She describes a history of childhood neglect and a troubled adolescence; from making and selling meth, to jail time, to temporarily losing custody of her two sons. She suffered abuse from a drug-addicted boyfriend and became pregnant with a third child as she struggled to pay the rent.
Desperate and heartsick, she met with a Christian couple who would eventually adopt her unborn child. Then, Kelly’s life took an unexpected turn. She heard about a program that would open the door to a life she’d only dreamed about.
“I was very scared,” she recalls of the orientation session at the Denver Rescue Mission’s Champa House, a transitional home for single mothers that provides job training, life and parenting skills, family and individual therapy, along with room and board, for up to 27 months. The five-phase New Life program tailors learning to individual needs, all geared toward self-sufficiency.
A Safe Haven and Room to Grow
Residents must complete their GED, finish household chores and attend a church and weekly Bible study. Rules include no cell phone use, no boyfriends, mandatory church attendance and a curfew.
Structure and rules improve the program’s effectiveness. “It’s a safe place to live,” says Angela Magnotta, program director for Champa House, citing a 50 percent success rate for these families. Another important key — the activities, training and interaction all point back to godly principles. “It always comes back to, ‘What does Scripture say?’ ” she says. Whether a resident listens to a sermon, learns the do’s and don’ts of childrearing or works on anger management, “[t]hey’re being submersed in the Word of God to some degree.”
The Church Reaches Out
Champa House also relies on the ministry of churches and outreach groups. For example, workers from the Greek Orthodox Church in Denver helped renovate the living quarters, painting and carpeting the rooms with colors the residents had chosen.
The women’s ministry at Bethel Biblical in Lakewood “adopted” the families at the house. Says Norma Mummert, “We knew [the Denver Rescue Mission] would do a thorough job and put them on their feet.” The Bethel ladies throw a going-away/housewarming party for each family that graduates from the program and a Christmas celebration for all the residents. The mothers submit a wish list (wants and needs) to get them started. These can include bedspreads and sheets, pots and pans, dishes, silverware, curtains, towels and cleaning supplies. (The Denver Rescue Mission gives each graduate some furniture and a used car and returns the fees the women paid to Champa House from their Temporary Assistance to Needy Families funds.)
Blessing to be Blessed
Norma says that Christmas gifts may also include a winter coat, crafts supplies, cologne, shoes and jewelry. “Most of the time they have nothing when they come here.” She stresses that all the items are new to truly give the women a fresh start. “For some of them, it’s their first home… It’s a blessing to us to help bless those who have worked so hard to better themselves.” Now, the Bethel Biblical ministry will be providing New Testaments from the American Bible Society as a welcome gift to each mother entering the New Life program.
Time for Hope and Faith
Kelly will be graduating soon. She looks at the sobering “what-ifs” of not going through such a program. “I wouldn’t have my kids,” she says, and would have turned back to drugs and perhaps not be alive. Her stay at Champa House has turned a desperate situation into a hopeful one, with positive goals for the future. Now, she says, her top worry isn’t, “If my son needs a pair of shoes, where am I going to get them?”
God’s Word lived in the people and activities at Champa House have taught her a lot: “I am somebody, and it’s taught me how to grow up and it has brought me a lot closer to God.”
Please note that the views expressed in this story are not necessarily the views of the American Bible Society. Story posted on October 31st, 2006 and filed under ABS Stories.
