Home Care In Aurora, CO

AURORA | Community leaders from Aurora and the region celebrated the grand opening of the Aurora Regional Navigation Campus, a new facility designed to help homeless people reach their personal, highest level of self-sufficiency through what proponents say is a hybrid approach to addressing homelessness.

The former Crowne Plaza Hotel and Conference Center on the northeast Aurora and Denver border has been transformed into a support hub offering shelter, health care, employment services and pathways to permanent housing.

“This facility will embody a people-focused, progress-driven approach to homelessness that empowers and prepares people to come through these doors to improve their circumstances, not a handout, but a hand up,” Mayor Mike Coffman said.

The project was made possible through House Bill 22-1378, which created a $50 million grant program to develop regional navigation campuses across the Denver metro area. Aurora received $15.4 million from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs to purchase and renovate the facility, with additional funding from Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas Counties, each contributing federal American Rescue Plan Act or ARPA dollars.

Colorado Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera said the project is a model of collaboration.

“A facility that represents hope, dignity and a true commitment to serving some of our state’s most vulnerable residents,” she said. “Residents will have access to not just a bed for the night, but vital health care, including medical respite beds in an on-site clinic, case management, employment supports and a path to independence.”

Primavera said Aurora’s center joins four other regional facilities and reflects “a Colorado where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.”

The massive renovation turned the hotel, at 15500 E. 40th Ave., near Chambers Road and Interstate 70, into a multi-tiered program designed to move participants from homeless crisis to self-sufficiency.

The campus is what city officials refer to as a “hybrid model” offering a “no strings” homeless shelter and, in addition, on the same campus, work-first housing in rooms at the former hotel. Numerous vetted studies over more than a decade insist that so-called “housing-first” programs are more effective at getting people off the streets and moving toward long-term self-sufficiency than so-called “work first” programs. Proponents of “housing-first” approaches argue that immediate stability provided by getting off the streets makes drug and alcohol rehabilitation and job attainment more successful.

Homelessness experts say this type of “hybrid” approach requires more studies to understand effectiveness.

Coffman said the facility is a huge achievement and credited Elly Watson, assistant director of Public Works, Allison Zamaitis, the former grants compliance officer for Aurora, Emma King, homeless division manager and Jessica Prosser, director of housing and community services, among the city’s staff for bringing the project to life.

“We’re grateful to every partner who made this possible,” he said. “This building has come a long way from being a hotel just last year.”

The city selected non-profit organization Advance Pathways as the site operator after a competitive bid process. The group also runs the Aurora Day Resource Center and brings, as Coffman called it, “a holistic, accountability-based approach.”

Advance Pathways CEO Jim Geobelbecker said the center is built on three philosophies, he calls “tiers”: compassion, courage, and commitment.

Tier One is called the “compassion” level and aims to meet basic needs with few requirements from those accepting the basic shelter services. This tier is displayed as a shelter, restructuring large conference rooms into spacious rooms with cots, lockers and bathroom and showering spaces.

There are 285 cots.

Tier Two, called the “courage” level, requires engaging with case managers and peer coaches. In this tier, people move from cots to beds in large dorm-like spaces with additional storage and cubby space, and they are called pods. The beds are built with walls on three or four sides for a little extra privacy.

There are 114 pods.

Tier Three is called the “commitment” level and offers long-term, independent living additional commitments, including a requirement to hold a full-time job. This tier allows individuals to move into single and two-bed hotel rooms on the campus. People in this tier are given a separate entrance, private parking, and a shared kitchenette/living room with a fridge, microwave and televisions.

There are 220 rooms in tier three, some of which are used for staff. The campus’s capacity for those using the entire shelter is 600 people.

“We believe in earning your way forward,” Geobelbecker said.

The campus includes a computer room with job-finding resources and employees who will help with resume building, job hunting and other job-related resources. There is the “navigation center,” a large resource room for people who need identification paperwork, job certifications, such as bloodborne pathogen certification to help become a janitor, and certifications in video and drone, HVAC, flagging, forklift and doula work through Pride Initiative.

There are also dental services, health resources, GED classes through the Aurora Library, compassion rides, bus passes, Arapahoe/Douglas works for jobs resources, a detox center, HEART court diversion program through Aurora, Dogstar holistic work for mediation and yoga, along with a dog sitting center.

Dog sitting is free, including quarantine, veterinary services, food, grooming, a dog run, and animal training, as long as each owner volunteers three hours a week in the dog area.

“We don’t want to separate people from their family,” Jessica MacDonald, an Advance support coach, said.

The campus will have a single entry point with a security scanner for weapons. Geobelbecker said there will be no drug screening or curfew for people in tiers one and two upon entry, although they are not allowed to bring in drugs or alcohol, and those substances will be confiscated. He said the goal is to give people some form of structure they may want.

There is drug and alcohol screening for tiers two and three in their respective programs, and tier three has its own private entryway with separate security.

There is also a lot of outdoor space at the facility for smokers and outdoor exercise, and Geobelbecker said that, down the road, he hopes to put in a basketball court and a community garden. Advance also kept the hotel gym and grand piano for personal use.

The philosophy of “hand-up” not “hand out” is built on second chances, with a no-strike system for infractions. People will be asked to leave if they do not follow the rules, but they will be allowed back.

Some jobs will be offered on campus, such as janitorial work, but there are no work-for-stay jobs. The majority of people will be encouraged to seek work outside the campus to achieve their “highest level of self-sufficiency.” Officials said that people with disabilities and older adults will only be required to work as much as they can.

There is also no limit on the length of people’s stays. People will be working with social workers to secure housing away from the campus, but it will be at their own pace.

There will be 62 staff working on the campus and 10 security personnel. About 85% of its staff are in some version of recovery themselves and serve as peer mentors.

“This work isn’t just about services,” Geobelbecker said. “It’s about reshaping lives and neighborhoods. Right now, we want to be able to provide the tools, the structure and the belief in their own potential. Each person we work with, we want them to be able to move forward and stay forward.”

He said individuals at the campus will have access to job training, including janitorial certification and culinary programs, with the first cohort beginning later this month.

Chantelle Anderson, Advance Pathways’ director of programs, shared her personal story of addiction, homelessness and recovery, and why the program relies on people with lived experiences.

“I like to share a piece of my story, not because it’s perfect, but because it’s proof that no matter how far you fall, there’s always a way to rise again,” Anderson said. “I lived in survival mode, slept under stairs, behind dumpsters, wherever I could find warmth. I’d stop at shelters long enough to shower, get a meal and then go back outside, for I found it safer to be on the streets than in the shelter as a woman.”

Anderson’s journey, from homelessness to leading recovery programs, illustrates the very mission of the Navigation Campus: finding your way in your own time.

She said she faced abuse, addiction and incarceration. In her darkest moments, she held onto hope because she wanted to get her children back after losing them to drug addiction and homelessness.

“No one sits in a position of power to look down on you,” Anderson said. “Sometimes we just need someone to believe in us long enough for us to believe in ourselves again.”

The Aurora Regional Navigation Campus officially opens Nov. 17, welcoming its first guests into what leaders hope will become a national model for addressing homelessness. On the same day, the Aurora Day Resource Center on the Fitzsimons campus will completely close its location.

“Colorado and Aurora continue to step up. You’re demonstrating that ending homelessness is not just possible, it’s imperative,” said Lt. Gov. Primavera. “This campus is more than a building, it’s a lifeline, and together, we’re creating a Colorado where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.”

Waves of colorful northern lights are expected to light up Colorado skies once again Wednesday night as severe geomagnetic storms continue, according to space weather forecasts.

Another burst of energy from the sun, known as a coronal mass ejection, is expected to reach Earth midday and remain active throughout the night, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center, based in Boulder.

That wave of solar activity, which triggers the light show on the horizon, is forecast to arrive between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Wednesday, according to space weather forecasters.

Two of those energy bursts arrived Tuesday on Earth, painting the skies of Denver and beyond with red, pink, purple and green. Coloradans across the state reported being able to see the colors with their naked eye, and the effect was boosted by phone cameras.

The magnetic field of Tuesday night's storm was eight times stronger than normal and favorable to "continued activity," NOAA space forecasters said in a video update.

The energy burst expected to arrive Wednesday will likely hit the "severe" G4 category, but could reach "extreme" G5 levels, forecasters said in the video.

The five-step geomagnetic storm ranking scale predicts how the storm will impact Earth -- not just in the vibrancy of the aurora borealis, but in the potential disruption or damage to power grids and communications systems.

An extreme storm, G5, can collapse power grids, cause blackouts and disrupt satellite navigation and radio frequencies, according to the NOAA.

How bright the auroras are and how far south they are visible will depend on when the solar bursts get here and how they interact with Earth’s atmosphere. If the Wednesday night storm is as strong as Tuesday's, as forecasted, Coloradans should once again be able to see it on the horizon.

The best chance to see the aurora borealis is by getting far away from city lights and checking a light pollution map for clear spots. Then turn all gazes and cameras, with long exposure activated, north.

The sky above Mesa County glowed brilliant shades of red, orange and green Tuesday evening as charged particles from a major solar storm reached Earth’s atmosphere.

Residents from Palisade to Fruita to Glade Park captured images of the aurora borealis, also known as the Northern Lights. Western Colorado Astronomy Club President Nancy McGuire was one of those people who witnessed and photographed the event.

“Despite being an amateur astronomer for many years, it was my first time to witness it where you could actually see the color in the sky,” McGuire said. “The human eye is not as sensitive as a camera, so very often for humans the sky might appear like a glowing white color or some white bands of light. This was a clearly visible bright red sky, like a pulsating red sky.”

According to an Associated Press report, the aurora was caused by a coronal mass ejection last week, which sends charged particles into space, some of which hit Earth’s atmosphere. Being able to see aurorae in Mesa County is unusual, McGuire said.

“In general, the sun has just passed or is in the process of passing what’s called the solar maximum,” McGuire said. “It’s a cycle that happens every 11 years. So the sun has been very active for the past couple of years, which has yielded a number of auroral displays this far south, which are pretty rare.”

McGuire said members of the Western Colorado Astronomy Club monitor announcements of solar events that could produce aurorae in our area, so they were ready to capture the event when it happened.

“Usually what happens is there’s a solar storm or a coronal mass ejection or something that happens on the sun and then within two or three days after that we get the aurora here on Earth,” McGuire said.

The show may not be over just yet. There is a chance for more aurorae to be visible in Mesa County this week, though the forecast from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows it will be less likely than it was Tuesday evening.

“As with all nighttime sky phenomena, viewing from a dark location is important,” McGuire said. “If people are anywhere in town, like Grand Junction or Fruita, the best bet is to drive to a darker site where you have a good view of the northern horizon because that’s where the aurora will be visible and the darker sky you can get the better.”

McGuire said the phenomenon is called the Northern Lights for a reason.

“What happens when an aurora occurs, charged particles from a solar event collide with the Earth’s atmosphere and its strongest along the magnetic fields that come from the North Pole and the South Pole,” McGuire said. “Those particles follow the magnetic field of the Earth, which is strongest at the north and south polar regions.”

McGuire said anyone interested in learning more about amateur astronomy can attend the Western Colorado Astronomy Club’s monthly meetings. They are held the first Tuesday of every month, except January. They also hold public night sky viewing events during the warmer months where people can view things like planets and nebulae through club members’ telescopes.

To find out more about their meetings and events visit wcacastronomy.org.

ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT

The Western Colorado Astronomy Club is currently holding an astrophotography exhibit at the Grand Junction Visitor Center at 740 Horizon Dr. through Dec. 1.

More than 53 prints have been installed featuring solar, lunar, galaxy and nebulae images by local award-winning astrophotographers, all captured from the Grand Junction area.

The project is headed by Western Colorado Astronomy Club Vice President Terry Hancock, whose astrophotography will also be on exhibit.

Hancock and several of the exhibitors will give a presentation at 2 p.m. on Nov. 24 talking about where all the images were captured in the Grand Junction area, as well as giving a guided tour of the prints by the astrophotographers and exhibitors.

“Myself and several other exhibitors are doing a presentation, which will be a show of the equipment that we use for capturing comets and deep sky images,” Hancock said. “Then a guided tour by myself and other exhibitors of the prints at the exhibit.”

After the exhibit leaves the Grand Junction Visitor Center it will move to the Grand Junction Convention Center and Avalon Theater.

The final round of a powerful solar storm will hit the Earth Wednesday night, potentially offering another chance to see the northern lights.

DENVER — After a dazzling night of color across Colorado skies, space weather experts say the northern lights could make another appearance Wednesday night, though nothing is guaranteed.

“It packed a bigger punch than we would have thought,” said Shawn Dahl, service coordinator at the Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder. “That's why when the chance happens like last night, people need to take the opportunity because even though we could expect it again the next night, it just may not all come together.”

Dahl said forecasters were tracking three coronal mass ejections, or CMEs — massive bursts of solar material ejected from the sun. Two of them reached Earth on Tuesday, sparking the vibrant aurora borealis display seen along the Front Range. A third CME arrived in the solar wind early Wednesday, setting up the possibility for another round.

“We went ahead and extended that G4 watch into tomorrow because we know the potential is there,” Dahl said. “But we never really know what’s going to unfold with these things.”

According to Dahl, predicting auroras is complicated. Scientists can see solar eruptions leaving the sun, but they don’t know their full impact until the energy reaches satellites about a million miles from Earth. That’s when forecasters can measure the magnetic field orientation — a crucial factor in determining whether a CME will interact with Earth’s magnetosphere or simply pass by.

“Last night, the magnetic fields came together like two magnets connecting,” Dahl explained. “That’s why it really spun up hard and we all saw it even from our rooftop here in Boulder.”

As for tonight, he said it’s worth keeping an eye on the northern sky.“It’s one of those things where you just have to keep checking,” Dahl said. “We’re at that great time of year, it gets dark early, so people might want to look around 8 p.m. to midnight and just be patient.”

He recommends watching for updates at spaceweather.gov, where real-time data shows when conditions are favorable.

Even during the sun’s 11-year solar cycle, events like this remain rare.

“During the last cycle, we never had a G5. That’s the top end of our scale,” Dahl said. “This cycle we had one last May, and last night came pretty close. But all these things have to come together, the storm has to hit Earth, and the magnetic field has to line up just right.”

That alignment, and Colorado’s long, dark nights, helped make this week’s display unusually vivid.

“Everything came together really great,” Dahl said. “We were very connected early on through the CME passage, and wow, I’ve seen some great pictures even from light-polluted areas here in Boulder and Loveland. My wife saw it from our driveway in Berthoud — the first time she’s ever seen the aurora.”

Whether it happens again tonight depends on how that third CME behaves.

“The potential is there,” Dahl said. “But it might not all come together like it did last night.”

Tips for spotting the Aurora in Colorado tonight