Denver is an expensive city in which to live. Many working people are just one paycheck away from homelessness, despite their best efforts. The Denver Rescue Mission meets people exactly where they’re at physically and spiritually and works with them to create a sustainable life.

Preston works at the front desk in The Crossing, a Denver Rescue Mission facility. 

“I absolutely love it. I get to interact with so many people,” Preston explained. 

He’s learning office skills and getting customer service experience. The position is part of his work therapy.

“It’s a network of amazing, sincere people that just really matter to each other,” he said of the people he works with every day. 

The 32-year-old is finding his purpose in the Rescue Mission’s New Life program. 

“My situation was purely financial instability, and honestly, a lack of skills,” he explained. 

Like so many low-skilled workers, Preston thought he could get by in Denver with a high school diploma and a management job in retail. Unfortunately, that put him one unexpected event away from homelessness. 

“I got into a vehicle accident. I was injured for a couple of months. I depleted my savings,” he said. 

Preston ended up at the Rescue Mission’s 48th Street Shelter. For 10 months he lived at the shelter. He was working, however he wasn’t making any headway toward a sustainable life.

“After I lost everything that I had worked so hard for, I was in this mental rut, ‘Why am I going to try again to get everything I once had and then risk losing it again?’” he told CBS News Colorado. 

In the New Life program, Preston works with a case manager. Together they work on skills like financial literacy, emotional intelligence and improving job skills. 

“I do intend to, once I’m eligible, come to work for Denver Rescue Mission for their hospitality team,” Preston said. 

 Preston is building a realistic plan for his future. He’s also gaining the confidence he needs to be able to handle any challenges that come up. 

“I mean…this place has kind of saved my life.”  

LINK: Spread the Warmth

CBS Colorado’s Spread the Warmth campaign supports the work of the Denver Rescue Mission. We are accepting donations of money or warm weather gear that the Denver Rescue Mission can then use to keep people warm this winter.