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Shelter volunteers and advocates urge Arvada to increase support for Mission Arvada and navigation center
Summary
Multiple speakers praised Mission Arvada’s services, described volunteer efforts and operating costs for last winter’s overnight shelter, and urged the council to provide additional funding to retain staff and support the organization’s programs.
Speakers at the May 20 Arvada City Council meeting urged city leaders to increase funding for Mission Arvada’s shelter and services, citing volunteer labor, direct operating costs for a winter overnight shelter, and the risk of losing key staff.
Tom Ochsner, a clinical psychologist and 30-year Arvada resident, told the council Mission Arvada ran an overnight shelter on 45 of the coldest nights last winter and that 277 unique individuals used the shelter for a total of 2,035 overnight stays. “If the city had perhaps provided host hotel stays for that many overnight stays, it would have cost well over $200,000. It cost Mission Arvada about $60,000 in direct costs to run the overnight shelter,” Ochsner said, and he urged the city to…
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