The Gathering Place urges Denver to sustain funding for women- and gender‑diverse‑focused homelessness services

The Gathering Place, a Denver nonprofit daytime center serving women, gender-diverse people and children experiencing homelessness, told the City Council’s Safety, Housing, Education and Homelessness Committee on June 11 that rising need and falling funding threaten its operations and asked the council to prioritize resources for facility repairs and accessibility upgrades.

Christian Nesbitt, director of stability and recovery programs, and Heather Beck, CEO of The Gathering Place, described a low‑barrier, trauma‑informed model they said centers four pillars — home, health, purpose and community — and provides wraparound supports including meals, showers, health and dental services, housing-focused case management, peer navigation and employment and financial education. “We believe in a low‑barrier approach,” Nesbitt said, adding the agency treats members with cultural responsiveness and sustained outreach.

The presenters illustrated the model with a client story: a woman who entered The Gathering Place’s services in 2019 while fleeing domestic violence, accessed medical and behavioral‑health partnerships and rapid rehousing, later lost a voucher and returned to the program before moving into Alati Village, a micro‑community operated by The Gathering Place. Beck pointed to that continuity of care as evidence the organization’s approach can move people from crisis toward stability.

Beck said The Gathering Place operates with 28 direct‑service staff and serves more than 6,000 people across nearly 50,000 visits each year, with about 200 adults and children placed into housing in the past year. Presenters noted service demand has grown — they said the organization served about 1,000 more people in the last 12 months than the prior year — while costs rise (they cited food prices up more than 20 percent), increasing pressure on the nonprofit’s budget.

Councilmembers asked about program scale and specific sites. Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer asked whether the organization’s impact report includes Alati Village; Beck said Alati Village opened just over a year ago and the organization plans an updated annual report soon. Councilman Hines raised neighborhood concerns that the Alati micro‑community had an extremely low census (he said he had heard claims that only four people were living there); Beck and Nesbitt disputed that description, saying census dips occurred during a sewage repair and brief operational holds but that the site is moving toward full capacity and that a Good Neighbor Committee meets regularly.

On operations, presenters said residents and some focus groups asked for security early in planning but that the organization relies on staff trained in de‑escalation and trauma‑informed responses rather than an armed security model, which they called expensive and often ineffective. The Gathering Place requested that the city prioritize funding for affinity spaces, accessibility upgrades and facility maintenance (for example, air‑conditioning and roof repairs) to preserve services for Denver’s most vulnerable residents.

Chair Sarena Gonzalez Gutierrez thanked the presenters and councilmembers for their questions. The committee did not take any formal action on The Gathering Place presentation during the meeting; the organization’s request was framed as a budget and policy priority for the mayor’s recommended budget process.

Ending: The presentation closed with councilmembers expressing appreciation and acknowledging the need to consider nonprofit operational stability as the city confronts budget shortfalls.