As Fort Collins shelters reach capacity, the city will be using a downtown building as an overflow facility. The City of Fort Collins announced in a press release that 212 Mountain Avenue, which is on the corner of Mountain and Howes Street, will be temporarily used as a shelter, beginning the first week of November. 

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The City of Fort Collins has said that Fort Collins Rescue Mission on Jefferson and the Catholic Charities' location on Linden are both experiencing maximum capacity, and temperatures are starting to drop below freezing at night. The city will be opening up 212 Mountain Avenue, next to the Mountain Cafe, from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m., with security on site.

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Currently, the Catholic Charities location on Linden serves women and families, and this year, the Fort Collins Rescue Mission transitioned the Jefferson shelter to 24-7 housing for men experiencing homelessness.

'Having a place to keep their belongings, shower regularly and not have to worry where to sleep allows many to keep a steady job,' Seth Forwood, Director of Fort Collins Rescue Mission, said in the city's press release. 'Since May, Mission staff has helped over 60 men experiencing homelessness find jobs within our community.'

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November is National Homelessness Awareness Month, and the City of Fort Collins notes that more than 600 people are considered chronically homeless in our community. According to the Coloradoan, in 2021, between Larimer and Weld Counties, 18 percent of the homeless population suffered from mental illness, while 10 percent had a substance abuse problem. Fort Collins strives to make homelessness 'rare, brief and non-recurring.'

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