‘No direction to go’

By JACE DICOLA

Jace.DiCola@gjsentinel.com

It’s 6:45 a.m., Saturday — the first few guests of Grand Junction’s largest homeless shelter, at 2853 North Ave., shuffled into a courtyard out front. It was 32 degrees, and the sun had just finished rising.

Those guests at HomewardBound of the Grand Valley’s emergency overnight shelter were some of the last inside the facility before it permanently shuttered later that morning.

According to HomewardBound Chief Operating Officer Chris Masters, just under 70 guests stayed at the once-140-bed facility the night before.

“It’s the lowest numbers that I’ve seen since COVID,” Masters said. “People are getting ahead of it. A lot of supplies were passed out yesterday, so I think some people went ahead and tried to get settled in other places.”

A FINAL PUSH TO HELP

As guests filed out of the shelter for the last time, they were met with a crew of volunteers from the shelter, Mutual Aid Partners (MAP), Hilltop, Peer 180 and a few crisis counselors from Health Solutions West.

With many guests wondering where to go next, one volunteer told the crowd that they should be allowed at local the parks during the day, but warned that “if you remain in the parks after hours, you could face trespassing (charges).”

MAP volunteers had coordinated a pop-up distribution for the shelter, offering an array of supplies, including resource bags with maps, hygiene bags, feminine hygiene products, gloves, blankets, socks and matches.

Many of the supplies were donated by the community, including roughly 25 of the hygiene bags, which were assembled by a second-grade class from Juniper Ridge Community School. In addition to the essential hygiene items, each student included a note of encouragement.

“You matter. You aren’t alone. You deserve kindness,” one read.

Meanwhile, another MAP volunteer asked guests about their plans. For individuals with a long-distance destination in mind, whether it be family or another shelter, the volunteer offered to help them complete a “traveler’s aid form,” from local law enforcement, which could cover the cost of a bus or train ticket.

HomewardBound staff guided guests through the market of resources, and one shelter volunteer passed out cups of hot chocolate, bags of popcorn and banana bread. In addition to the Health Solutions West counselors, Peer180 Recovery Coach Nathan Jewkes made an effort to chat with as many guests as possible. He said it’s difficult to stress the potential impact of a little guidance, and even just an open ear.

“I’m trying to provide (support, because) I was here, in the same kind of situation about seven years ago,” Jewkes said. “I lost my house, I was stuck out on the streets and didn’t know where to go. So I just kind of wandered around for like six days. I had a psychotic break because of it. I just walked ‘cause I couldn’t sit anywhere, and there’s no direction to go to either.”

Toward the end, a few HomewardBound staff brought a handful of eligible guests to the Pathways Shelter at 562 29 Road.

In the two months leading up to the closure, HomewardBound case managers helped at least 26 guests find a new place: they permanently housed nine guests, enrolled eight into transitional living programs, admitted three into an assisted living facility, helped four into a long-term treatment program and placed two into a family housing program. Over the same amount of time, roughly 15 unhoused individuals have died, according to MAP.

WHAT SHELTER GUESTS HAD TO SAY

By 8:30 a.m., the shelter’s last guests walked off the property. Many kept walking, a few got into cars and some crowded the bus stop on the sidewalk out front.

Among those asked about their plan, few had a specific one in mind.

“I just want to get somewhere warm,” 22-year-old Dee said. “I want to find a way to make sure that (my partner) and I can get to a position where we can actually thrive. I want to get my baby.”

“I don’t know where I’m going to sleep tonight. They say you can’t sleep in the parks, so you can’t sleep anywhere,” Grand Junction native Tamara said, while tucking her 18-year-old Chihuahua, Piper, inside a blanket.

She had just finished sweeping and a few other chores she said they had as shelter guests.

According to Tamara, there are places where she can find a few of the resources she will need in the coming weeks — like Grand Valley Catholic Outreach’s Soup Kitchen and the Joseph Center

See FINAL, page 4A ➤

Former guests of the HomewardBound of the Grand Valley’s North Avenue emergency overnight shelter say goodbyes to friends and staff before leaving before the shelter permanently closed on Saturday.

LARRY ROBINSON/ The Daily Sentinel

Elizabeth Jarboe, staff with HomewardBound of the Grand Valley, hugs former guests of the HomewardBound North Avenue emergency overnight shelter before the shelter permanently closed on Saturday.

LARRY ROBINSON/ The Daily Sentinel

Former guests of the HomewardBound of the Grand Valley’s North Avenue emergency overnight shelter line up Saturday to receive sleeping bags, sleeping pads, hygiene products and more during a pop-up distribution day hosted by Mutual Aid Partners, before gathering their belongings and leaving before the shelter permanently closed.

LARRY ROBINSON/ The Daily Sentinel

➤ Continued from page 1A

— but when they all close in the early afternoons, “it’s a mystery what’s going to happen.”

She added that she had spent the last of her money staying at the local Motel 6 for about two months before she came to the shelter as a last resort.

“I feel like I’m not even treading water, almost drowning,” Tamara said. “Where are you going to get dinner? Here, but now? I have no idea because these cereal bars aren’t going to last long, and I’m out of money.”

Many of the guests who did have a specific plan weren’t sure how long it would last.

One of them was Ken, an older man who said he and a few others will stay at a paid campground until they run out of money. He saved some money from donating blood, but he didn’t anticipate having the funds to stay longer than a few days.

He added that he appreciated a lot of the supplies distributed that morning by MAP, which would keep him warm “for at least a few nights.”

Still, he insisted someone needs to find a way to reopen the shelter. Having been in and out of the shelter for the past few years, he said a lot of the other guests are his family, and “a lot of them aren’t going to make it.”

“I was born in Fruita and raised here all my life. Worked 32 years in the oil field, had a couple of bad relationships and here I am,” Ken said. “All these people out here, they have no idea they’re just that far from being right here. And now there ain’t no ‘here’ left. It ain’t right.

”There ain’t much we can do now but pray for the best for everybody.”

A few guests at HomewardBound of the Grand Valley’s North Avenue emergency shelter enjoy each other’s company and their final dinner at the shelter, before it permanently closed on Feb. 28.

COURTESY OF HOMEWARDBOUND OF THE GRAND VALLEY

Former guests of the HomewardBound of the Grand Valley’s North Avenue emergency overnight shelter gather their belongings before leaving before the shelter permanently closed on Feb. 28.

LARRY ROBINSON/ The Daily Sentinel

Tamara Richards, lifelong resident of Grand Junction, wheels her belongings and 18-year-old chihuahua, Piper, away from their home at HomewardBound of the Grand Valley’s North Avenue emergency overnight shelter and Homeward Hounds before the shelter permanently closed on Feb. 28, 2026.

LARRY ROBINSON / The Daily Sentinel