New program from Denver Rescue Mission keeps families in homes through crisis times

As the economy tightens, families with children are facing homelessness at an alarming rate. Denver Rescue Mission is meeting the need with a new pilot program that is heading off homelessness before it happens.

The Prevention Program started in the Poudre and Jefferson County School Districts. The Mission hired caseworkers in both districts to take referrals from school staff for families who are in crisis but haven't been evicted yet. The program is designed to get them the financial help they need to keep them in their home. 

"It really helps people who need just a little bit of help before they're in too deep," said Nicole Reichelderfer, case worker for the Prevention Program in Poudre School District. 

The program gives one-time grants that help pay the bills before they're past due.

"Once you get evicted, that's on your record. That doesn't go away. Now you're struggling to get into places, now you're paying extra deposits, you're paying extra rent," Reichelderfer explained. 

Audrianna and Cole Baker were the first family to receive prevention money. 

"They were the perfect family because they had applied to so many different programs and missed the criteria just barely," Reichelderfer said. 

The couple needed an infusion of cash when their younger son needed open heart surgery. Maddix is 8-years-old. 

"He is the funniest, silliest little boy you'll ever meet," Audrianna Baker said.

"Unstoppable. No matter illness or anything else, he hasn't let anything stand in his way," Cole Baker added. 

Maddix was born by emergency C-section with an enlarged heart that was causing a laundry list of other medical problems. In his young life, he's gone through 80 procedures to mitigate his medical problems. The latest was in October, when he had to have open heart surgery. 

"By him going in for a surgery like this, it means that we completely lose our income," Audrianna Baker explained. 

The Bakers have waivers through the State that allow them to provide Maddix with medical care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It's called A Children with Complex Health Needs (CwCHN) waiver. 

"When he is in-patient, that goes away," Audrianna Baker said with a snap of her fingers. 

The family was facing up to 2-months with no income, no way to pay their bills, and a very sick child to care for. Homelessness was on the horizon. 

"Of anything that I've done, dealt with, that probably, honestly, was one of the scariest," Cole Baker said. 

That's when the Denver Rescue Mission's Prevention Program stepped in. The Bakers were able to access enough money to keep the family going during the surgery and recovery. 

"It saved us. It saved us a lot of headache, and heartache, and struggling," Audrianna Baker said. 

"I would say Denver Rescue Mission went above and beyond," Cole Baker added. 

The surgery was a success. Maddix gets to play another day, and the family still has a house to go home to. 

LINK: Spread the Warmth

Denver Rescue Mission needs donations of warm weather gear: hats, gloves, coats, boots, socks and underwear. You can also make a cash donation through CBS Colorado's Spread the Warmth campaign.