Christopher has never struggled with drugs. He doesn’t smoke or drink. He’s gifted with many skills and has occasionally labored as an iron worker, a welder, a heavy equipment operator, a truck driver, and a mechanic. Yet he’s been homeless more than half of his adult life — and he’s something of a fixture in the Colorado Springs homeless community.“I don’t know why,” he admits. “I never experienced any kind of child abuse or something like that. I guess the biggest problem is that I’ve always had an issue with authority. I get into a lot of trouble with employers because I give them my opinion whether they want to hear it or not. I’ve lost a few jobs over that.”But perhaps the bigger clue is the one he refuses to talk about — the death of his only son 10 years ago in a car accident. He was married and somewhat stable then. Since the accident, however, he’s lived outside almost every day.“I’ve stayed everywhere around town,” he says. “For a while, I had kind of an A-frame shelter, built half underground. But someone broke in and stole all my stuff, so I left it. Then I had a good tent that kept me warm in the winter, but I lost that in a storm.”As a result, Christopher spent almost every night last winter at the Springs Rescue Mission’s winter shelter — and he’s thankful the shelter will open again this winter.

“I’m grateful for a warm, dry, comfortable place like this,” he says. “And this Mission is the only shelter that treats people like me with respect. They’ve helped me a lot. Their Resource Advocate Program even helped me get my birth certificate and my social security card.”Your support of the Springs Rescue Mission’s winter shelter is giving men and women like Christopher real shelter from the storm — and more. Thank you!