The Lodge has served almost 100 people in half a year
https://www.dailycamera.com/2021/02/14/the-lodge-has-served-almost-100-people-in-half-a-year/
By DEBORAH SWEARINGEN | dswearingen@prairiemountainmedia.com | Boulder Daily Camera
February 14, 2021 at 11:00 a.m.
L.B., who says he has “impulse control problems, is one of nearly 100 unique clients served by The Lodge since it opened in Boulder six months ago. (Timothy Hurst/Staff Photographer)
In the six months since opening its doors, The Lodge has served nearly 100 unique clients, 51 of whom identify as transgender or non-binary.
The emergency shelter, in a back room at Congregation Har HaShem in Boulder, is meant to provide a secure place for cisgender women and those who identify as transgender or non-binary to stay that also can connect them with case management and other resources in the area. It was opened in September by the Mother House, a local organization serving at-risk mothers.
The space isn’t the same as the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless in North Boulder, which has multiple rooms with bunk beds, showers and food for its guests. At The Lodge, guests stay on sleeping bags, pads or air mattresses on the floor of one large room.
But it does offer something that many find appealing: A safe, quiet place with fewer distractions and fewer people. That’s exactly how L.B., who stayed at The Lodge on Feb. 8, described it.
L.B. said he has “impulse control problems” that make it tough to avoid trouble. For that reason, it’s better to have a quiet space with fewer people. And as someone who got frostbite on his left hand when staying out in the cold, he appreciates having a warm place to stay.
According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, limited information exists about the number of transgender people experiencing homelessness. But the Alliance noted that the data that does exist paints a similar picture: “Transgender people are more likely to be unsheltered than their cisgender peers, and those who are unsheltered have considerably more health and safety challenges than those who are sheltered.”
That holds true in Boulder County, according to Mardi Moore, Out Boulder County executive director.
“As the numbers demonstrate, trans people in our community often live in poverty and without housing,” she said.
“They don’t have health insurance. They lost their jobs in the pandemic. Discrimination is real and active in the community,” Moore added. You have all those things going on, and then we live in Boulder County where housing is expensive and … you pay a premium to get it.”
While working together at Mother House, Executive Director Lisa Sweeney-Miran and Program Director Shanan Collins recognized the need in Boulder for a niche shelter such as The Lodge.
“It wasn’t our first instinct to expand our work. I think our first hope was to bring attention to the need and hope that the city or county might start doing the work of working with a nonprofit to get something started,” Sweeney-Miran said.
When that didn’t happen, they figured: “Why shouldn’t it be us?”
Lots of women don’t have an immediate “being in flight” need that qualifies them for a domestic violence shelter, according to Sweeney-Miran, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have the same need for shelter and protection.
“There is a clear need, not only for more sheltering services but specifically for sheltering services that honor the needs of women, gender-queer and transgender people,” Sweeney-Miran said.
Program director and co-founder Collins, who used to lead the Boulder Outreach for Homeless Overflow, lived in her car in Boulder for several years due to what she called a series of bad investments and bad decisions. When looking for staff and volunteers, she prioritizes those with lived experience — whether that means a person has been without a house or is a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
“It’s hard to know where people are coming from if you don’t have at least a little bit of their experience,” Collins said.
It costs $160,000 annually to keep The Lodge open year-round, according to prior reporting from the Camera. The shelter received grants from the Community Foundation and Denver Foundation that cover the costs through the spring.
Mother House is securing further funding to continue running The Lodge without having to pause over the summer. Those interested in donating to The Lodge can do so at mother-house.org/lodge.