Springs Rescue Mission: More Than Food and a Bed

The city of Colorado Springs does not want people sleeping on the streets and stealing or begging for food. The last IRS report 990 that Springs Rescue Mission (SRM) filed (April 2024) shows $5.6 million in food and shelter costs, with $2.2 million coming from governments and $3.4 million from private sources. Their overall income is a healthy $13.5 million. SRM does not owe its life to government, and it does not give beds and meals only to those who sit through a service or listen to a sermon.

Part of the argument for city government supplementing the SRM budget comes down to dollars and cents. Colorado Springs spends about $57,000 annually per chronically homeless adult. SRM sees about 220 people a year move into some form of transitional or regular housing. That’s a potential savings of more than $12.5 million a year.

A second part of the argument is theological. SRM’s tier system allows individuals to progress at their own pace. Yes, a theology underlies that perspective, but SRM does not try to argue anyone into heaven. It does expose residents to Bible verses hung on the wall. As the central character in I, Mouse by Kraus, one of my favorite children’s books, says, “I like to eat cheese. Is that a crime?”

SRM, in short, can be and is many things for many people. The SRM 990 recognizes that government can and will “limit other organizations’ rights to freely preach the gospel of Jesus Christ,” so it emphasizes the overall goal: “to serve the poor and needy in Colorado Springs with the result being that lives are changed and restored to productivity as well as spiritually and socially regenerated.” SRM states forthrightly its hope of leading individuals into “a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ.” It is careful, though, to use “only those funds which are given for this purpose by persons and entities other than agencies of the state, local, or federal government.”

That’s the tightrope SRM and its new CEO, Travis Williams, walk. Responding to my questions, he laid out the history of the city/mission dance. SRM, in communication with city officials, began in November 2012 to run 35 emergency shelter beds. Colorado Springs officials asked for more. In 2016, SRM added 30 more. Onward and upward to a current capacity of 450, with $300,000-$500,000 of city money every year.

Williams says, “We’re always going to be a faith-based Christian organization.” He speaks of “meeting those who come in where they are at.” He speaks of “building a relationship in a winsome and bold way…point people to what’s behind our ideas…collaborate without compromise…We’re all about building trust.” In an age of rampant suspicion concerning often-politicized evangelicalism, is the idea of “working together to tackle community challenges” just a platitude?

Part of the battle resembles the 1990s debate about defining compassion. At a Colorado Springs city council meeting in March 2024, councilmember David Leinweber asked regarding SRM’s tiered approach, “Are we being too hard?” After some residents complained that those who join the Hope program get better food and the same bed every night, Leinweber asked, “There are some things we’ve put around this population that makes life harder; is that compassionate?”

Then-CEO Jack Briggs responded, “It depends on what you want to incentivize.” He criticized approaches that let people settle into victimhood with no sense that they can change their lives: “I don’t think that’s compassion.” Here’s the fuller explanation from Briggs:

We gently incentivize them to improve their mental, physical, and spiritual health, as well as their prospects for employment and housing. These activities can be characterized as relief, restoration, and reintegration.…Relief is something we do for people. They’re starving; we feed them. They haven’t slept safely in weeks; we give them a safe place. Restoration and reintegration are things we do with people. We help them make progress toward housing, health, and work.

New CEO Travis Williams reiterates that: “The core of our approach is helping people having agency, empowering them to choose, giving them incentives to change, if they want.…Showing them that they can make decisions.” Williams does recognize a need to “connect better in relief services.…I want to make sure we’re grounded in loving people well.” He speaks of the need to “navigate our culture well while maintaining who we are.”

Some say compassion is giving people stuff. SRM’s culinary arts program represents a better way. Residents who want to become gainfully employed start at the bottom in the dish pit, washing plates and cutlery. When they show up on time, culinary instructors patiently train them to work in a modern commercial kitchen. In preparing simple meals, they learn food terminology and gain knife skills for use in food preparation, not self-defense or aggression. They earn ServSafe licenses that allow them to get outside culinary jobs.

The practice is hard, but the formula is simple. First, fed and bed. Beyond that, emphasize skills, not stuff.