Who We Are
OUR AGENCY
ACCESS Housing of Adams County, Inc. is a local nonprofit 501(c)3 located at 6978 Colorado Blvd in Commerce City, Adams County. This location houses all of our operations including our administration office, supportive services, and shelter facility. Founded in 1983, ACCESS Housing has served our local community for over 37 years.
Today, with our current Board of Directors, ACCESS Housing’s mission empowers families in our community who are experiencing homelessness with the solutions to achieve housing stability and self-sufficiency. In recent years, ACCESS has worked with Adams County and specifically its TANF resources to assist hundreds of families through our shelter and direct assistance related to rent and utility payments. Through our small, multi-talented team, ACCESS is committed to these housing services as well as expanding our resources through developing more supportive services to meet “families where they are” towards self-sufficiency and strong life skills for increased family instability.
During the last year and continuing into 2021, ACCESS Housing has secured more funding through local, state and federal programming related to the CARES Act, Community Development Block Grants and increased donor contributions to assist those in Adams County.
OUR History
In 1983, a group of concerned Commerce City residents founded a 501(c)(3) called ACCESS Housing of Adams County, Inc. to address the growing issue of homelessness in Adams County. Struggling with the effects of the oil boom and resulting housing displacement, many families were at risk of housing instability or facing homelessness. ACCESS Housing rose to the occasion by creating a shelter for affected families and quickly became a bastion of services and a beacon of hope in the community.
Today, ACCESS Housing continues to work at the grassroots level through our case management efforts within our transitional housing program (i.e., family shelter) at our core. ACCESS helps to mentor, coach and connect family head of households, the majority of which are women coming through our shelter operations, to resources to assist them in obtaining a job as the first step in housing stability for their families. While families are participating in our 9-week program, they are provided housing in one of our eight two-bedroom apartments that are our shelter facility.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, through a wide variety of grant offerings, ACCESS was able to increase its direct assistance offerings of rental, mortgage and utilities assistance. Always a part of ACCESS offerings, the demand for these types of preventative efforts increased during 2020–2021 with ACCESS Housing assisting hundreds of families in the local Adams County area.
As we focus our efforts on the future, ACCESS continues to invest in our traditional housing programs and direct assistance offerings as part of that original “bastion of services”. Our leadership sees the additional needs for relevant, wrap-around programming as the ongoing evolution of our founders’ spirit! From food pantry to parenting skills to job hunting resources, ACCESS is currently finalizing its 2021–2024 strategic plan to step-up to the ever-changing needs of our local families and being that hope in our community for a family’s stronger tomorrow.