Denver Lambuth Family Center

The Lambuth Family Center is a shelter dedicated to housing families experiencing homelessness.

History

In 1987, the Salvation Army opened the Lambuth Family Center in Denver, Colorado. At the time, it was transitional housing with the capacity to house seven families experiencing homelessness. It has since expanded, and now houses up to 20 families at a time. In 2019, it transitioned to a short-term emergency shelter program.

Our Mission

The goal of the Lambuth Family Center is to help families break the cycle of poverty and homelessness, and to begin building a sustainable, self-sufficient lifestyle.

Our Program

The Lambuth Family Center follows a low-barrier, housing-first shelter model. This means that our staff works alongside Lambuth guests to overcome any obstacles lying in the way of obtaining sustainable housing in as short a time as possible. Guests attend regular case management meetings where they work with a case manager to access the resources they need to accomplish three goals: financial stability, community connection, and ultimately sustainable housing.

Children and parents alike also have the opportunity to attend a number of enrichment programs, including classes, social groups, celebrations, and field trips. These programs are designed to support each guest in maintaining or improving their health — specifically: familial, physical, mental, and academic or professional health.

Our hope is that despite it being such a stressful and difficult time in life, guests of Lambuth will be able to look back on their stay here and remember feeling safe and supported.

Our Services

Upon arriving at Lambuth, each family is given their own room. Depending on the size, a room may accommodate anywhere from a family of three plus an infant to a family of six plus an infant. Families have the option of eating three free meals a day, including a warm dinner each evening. They also have the option of using our on-site laundry room. In order to support children in school and adults with their housing search or other responsibilities, Lambuth also offers a mobile laptop computer lab, and these laptops are available for short-term checkout.

Our Facility

It is the staff's goal here at Lambuth to make our building a safe and comforting space for guests, while they do the hard work of getting on their feet. This means that we do our best to provide private spaces where families can experience peace, as well as common spaces where budding community can foster a sense of hope.

Private Room

Each family receives their own room upon arriving at Lambuth. These rooms come furnished with bunk beds made up with sheets, pillows, and blankets, as well as a wardrobe, dresser, and nightstand. All rooms have an adjacent toilet room, and most include a shower. Those that don't are provided with keys to single-use baths located on their floor.

Dining Room

Lambuth provides breakfast, lunch, dinner, and an assortment of snacks. The dining room is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It's not uncommon here to see students snacking after school and working on homework while a group of parents talk about their day at work and toddlers giggle in the playpen.

Toddler Room

Recently re-imagined thanks to a combination of grant funding, generous donors, and hardworking volunteers, young eyes light up when they see our toddler room. Whether they immediately pull a truck off a shelf, start cooking a meal in our play kitchen, turn the pages of a board book, or scramble through a giant caterpillar-shaped tunnel, this is a place for parents and youngsters to explore and grow together.

Day Room

This space is designed to be a half-educational and half-family room. A place where families can play games together, pull books off the shelves of our library, use checked-out laptops to do homework, or just lounge together.

Grounds

We believe that a little fresh air can go a long way, and we know that in an urban environment, it can sometimes be difficult for families to spend enough time outside. For that reason, we have a secure playground where parents can take their kids to play and let off steam.

The vision doesn't stop there. In 2020, Lambuth built and maintained a community garden on-site, with the help of volunteers and families staying at Lambuth. The garden has not only provided fresh vegetables for Lambuth families, but has also become a place where parents and children come to feel the earth under their hands, learn, and grow.