COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- Wednesday at the Colorado Springs City Auditorium, nearly 30 local agencies worked with chronically homeless people in hopes of getting them off the streets. It's a mission by Homeward Pikes Peak during their fifth annual 'Project Connect'.
"You come in with a serious intent of getting off the streets," said CEO Robert Holmes. "And the neat thing is, every year we get people off the streets directly from this 'Project Connect' day.
There are no hand-outs here, only information for those serious about working their way back to self-sufficiency.
Robert estimates that three or four homeless a year have their lives changed as a direct result of the event. Three or four doesn't necessarily sound like a large number to some people. But there are many positives to that total.
"People in this demographic tend to use about $60,000 worth of services that taxpayers pay for every year, each person," said Holmes. "But when they get into a program they don't use that anymore."
But at the end of the day, it's more than dollars that are being saved. Holmes knows he's making a difference.
"We're changing lives, we're giving individuals hope, helping them regain their dignity. And kind of a third area that I just realized a few years ago is that we profoundly effect their families. You got moms, dads, husbands, wives, children, who have written these people off. Once they get off the streets and start to get sobered up you see families starting to form again. And that is a very cool thing."
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