New $23 million Northern Colorado shelter will help many "escape homelessness altogether" in Fort Collins

The Fort Collins Rescue Mission broke ground on a brand new shelter in Fort Collins on Friday. It will be the region's largest resource for people who are homeless.

A recent fire means the shelter is needed now more than ever.

After a round of opening statements and words of gratitude, leaders of the rescue mission officially dug their shovels in the ground at the intersection of Mason Street and Hibdon Court. The new center will be located one block west of College Avenue.

"This is years in development, where we are finally breaking ground on a new homeless resolution building for Fort Collins Rescue Mission," said Seth Forwood, Vice President of Programs.

Forwood noted the facility is being called a homeless resolution center because it will be more than just beds and a kitchen.

"The real point of this center is to resolve homelessness, is to take people who have nowhere else to go and don't know what options that they have, give them options, give them hope and ultimately give them a key to a place of their own and escape homelessness altogether," he said.

The building is slated to be open in the fall of 2026 and will have a capacity of 250 beds. It can't come soon enough, as the mission's previous building recently experienced a serious fire that destroyed 89 beds. It forced them to relocate to a smaller facility and turn away people at times.

"With 70 beds -- that's our capacity right now -- that is not enough for this winter, and on a freezing night? That's a life-and-death situation," said Forwood.

Fort Collins Police Sgt. Annie Hill oversees the city's homeless outreach and proactive engagement, or HOPE team, and says the building will have a "huge impact."

"We are encountering people frequently that are on the streets every night," said Hill.

"This is giving more opportunity for those people to access shelter and have a place to go at night," she said.

Hill says the facility will help get more people into a safer setting with more resources to help them find more stable living situations.

"So we're going to hopefully see a huge decrease in those people that are on the streets and without a bed and a roof over their head at night," she said.