Sale of Lakewood Motel leaves some Coloradans searching for new housing
Room 110 at the Mountain View Inn has everything Joyce Gonzales needs.
"It's small, but it serves the purpose, you know, for me," she said.
Over the last three years, she has worked at a nearby gas station to pay $425 a week needed to live here. From the pots and pans on the wall of her kitchen to the small couch and TV in her living space, she has made it a home.
"Don't have much but it's all I have. I don't want to lose it," Gonzales said.
The reality is she will likely have to leave. The motel was sold to Recovery Works earlier this year, which informed long-term guests they would need to vacate.
Gonzales signed an agreement saying she would leave by March 31 and the new owners would "do everything they could" to help her find a new motel or housing option.
She hasn't found a place but received a letter from management that reads, "We are informing you that this Friday, April 19 unfortunately marks the end of our extension."
What confuses Gonzales the most is Recovery Works is going to use the building as transitional housing -- giving people with no income a place to get off the street until they can get into more permanent housing.
"I said 'So you guys are going to make someone homeless to help someone who is homeless?' What is the purpose here?" she said.
In a statement, Recovery Works Executive Director James Ginsburg says, in part, "We are committed to supporting all guests in their transition and no one will end up back on the street."
The nonprofit has also agreed to help with the first and last month's rent for the guests they are asking to leave. Or, the letter says, they can save her a bed at a shelter in Denver. Gonzales says the offer would be well worth it if she could find an apartment she could afford nearby. Leaving, she worries, would cost her.
"I kind of need to stay in the area because I'm trying at this point to become management and get my own store, so I can get a better income," she said through tears. "And if I lose my job then I lose it all."
Several other residents told CBS News Colorado they have similar concerns about being able to afford the housing Recovery Works is trying to help them with. They did not want to go on camera, saying they were worried about the repercussions of doing so.
