A beloved co-worker
“In 2005 I lost 13 people I loved including my brother, my mother, and two sons. I tried to commit suicide, and the Coalition saved my life.”
Bobby was a 16 year employee of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA). He was so loved and respected that staff once pitched in to send him on a vacation to Vienna, Austria. But in 2005, Bobby’s world unraveled. In just four months, he lost 13 family members and friends including two sons. He spiraled into severe alcoholism and depression, attempting suicide more than once. Despite numerous interventions and attempts to help, DCPA finally had to let this favorite employee go. Their concern, however, did not end with his dismissal.
DCPA staff found Bobby in detox and discovered he was homeless. Bobby met with the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless’ Denver Housing First Collaborative team, which provided him supportive housing at Renaissance at Civic Center Apartments and connected him with substance treatment services staff. A great success story, Bobby has been sober and working part time for nearly two years.
Located in the former YMCA building in downtown Denver, Renaissance Civic Center Apartments provides affordable housing in the heart of Denver’s expensive “luxury loft” market. There are 216 affordable rental units, of which 72 units supply critical housing to homeless and at-risk individuals with chronic mental illness and other issues.