CLIENTS
Meet the people we serve.
(Hover over the image of one of our clients to read his or her story.)
BEVERLY
Beverly has been a volunteer serving Capitol Hill's clients for 19 years. A retired banker, she started helping out on the weekends “to keep busy” and it turned into a vocation.
Her life has been full of hard work and difficulties, but she has been there for others in need. Beverly cooks, helps find food and serves our clients...sometimes a one woman show.
BEVERLY
Beverly has been a volunteer serving Capitol Hill's clients for 19 years. A retired banker, she started helping out on the weekends “to keep busy” and it turned into a vocation.
Her life has been full of hard work and difficulties, but she has been there for others in need. Beverly cooks, helps find food and serves our clients...sometimes a one woman show.
TIMOTHY
Tim is only 48 but he has had a tough life and needs our hot meals to get by. A diabetic, he has neuropathy and poor blood circulation.
He last worked 10 years ago in construction and, although he is willing, his condition and appearance have been a problem in finding work. His total income is $192 a month.
TIMOTHY
Tim is only 48 but he has had a tough life and needs our hot meals to get by. A diabetic, he has neuropathy and poor blood circulation.
He last worked 10 years ago in construction and, although he is willing, his condition and appearance have been a problem in finding work. His total income is $192 a month.
PATRICK
Patrick, 54, lives in subsidized housing on a small fixed income that makes buying groceries a luxury. He used to work as a computer programer, but was laid off in the dot com bust.
His attempts to find someone to use his admittedly specialized training have not been successful. His disabilities also make it difficult for him to find work.
PATRICK
Patrick, 54, lives in subsidized housing on a small fixed income that makes buying groceries a luxury. He used to work as a computer programer, but was laid off in the dot com bust.
His attempts to find someone to use his admittedly specialized training have not been successful. His disabilities also make it difficult for him to find work.
RICH
Rich has been homeless on and off for about 10 years. He takes pride in the way he looks, although it is tough without his own place.
Happy when he can find work, it is irregular. He explains that employers are reluctant to hire when there is no permanent address. He is grateful for the hot meals he receives with us.
LOIS
Like a lot of our clients, Lois doesn't like to talk about herself very much. We did learn that she has been homeless for 4 years, survives on minimal disability income and is divorced.
Lois comes from Kirbyville, Texas and moved to Denver when she was younger. She likes our meals because "the volunteers are very nice and the food is good too."
ANDY
Andy left home at 14 after enduring an abusive father, saying it was so bad that he wanted to die. He moved to Denver 20 years ago and worked in the restaurant industry before a job related injury to his neck and spine. The disability benefit isn't sufficient to make ends meet.
He likes coming to CHCS, saying "the food is excellent and they treat me well." His parting comment: "You are only one paycheck away from being homeless."
GUY
Guy is one of the veterans that we help. At 52, he has served several years in the army in Germany, Japan, Central America and in Eastern Europe as a UN Peacekeeper.
After working for 3 years at Coors and as a day laborer, his injuries including PTSD were too much for him. He fortunately has a steady place to live in a low income apartment and enjoys coming to our meal sites for the very good hot meals.
BRUCE
Bruce descended into homelessness through a series of events that started with cancer. He lost an eye and much of his sinuses. He recalls that first the car went, then the job and finally his home. Homeless for 7 years and living in a shelter, he tries to keep faith that things will improve.
He notes: "You think you have life figured out, but then things happen beyond your control.
DWIGHT
Dwight has been in Denver for 30 of his 56 years. During much of that time, he worked on for the railroads and in the cattle yards in Broomfield and Greely. Always pleasant, Dwight doesn't have a lot to cheer about. As if eye surgeries and diabetes weren't enough, he is restricted with kidney dialysis.
Dwight's small income does not allow him to go grocery shopping. He said CHCS has great food -- especially the salads.
Capitol Hill Community Services serves the homeless and poor in Central and NE Denver. There are several reasons why we continue to see folks at our three sites. The common factor is poverty, but the root causes may include unemployment, medical or mental issues, substance abuse, lack of family support and divorce.
Each year the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative conducts a Point In Time survey. The 2019 data showed there were 3,943 homeless persons in Denver County alone. We serve a larger population of people who have minimal shelter and fall outside the parameters of the survey. These individuals cannot afford both food and rent.
We provide hot, nutritious meals to keep the indigent healthy in their struggle to turn things around. Capitol Hill Community Services serves free meals so that people do not have to choose between food and basic human needs such as medicine and shelter. Some who live on the streets may never return to a self-sufficient life and, for them, our mission is humanitarian.
During the last 12 months, we served about 40,000 hot, nutritious meals to those who really needed them.