How did Theodora House get started?
There was a growing need. Theodora House was opened in 1994 in response to a request from the city for housing for single women who do not have children in their care. They were really seeing a gap in those services. What do women get from the shelter? Anything you can think of, really. Most of them do have mental illness, so we are open from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. and have staff on all times that there are residents here. We provide showers and meals and basically a safe place to sleep. We connect them with resources such as mental health services and other community programs. Most of the time they’re not aware. They are referred very often from The Gathering Place, which is a daytime shelter for women and children. This can’t be an easy job. What led you to work for Theodora House? I came into this position in August of 2008 and before that I was an intern with Denver’s Road Home and received my master’s degree in social work in 2008. I worked in a transitional housing program in Texas as
