As faith leaders in our beloved and prosperous state of Colorado, we are deeply concerned that so many are unable to find adequate housing and enough food to eat. Some recent statistics are quite startling:
- On any given night, 10,940 Coloradans are homeless. (National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2018)
- Colorado has one of the highest number of homeless military veterans in the country. (Denver Post, 2018
- Nearly 1 in 11 Coloradans (9.2%) struggle with hunger, not always having enough money to buy food. (U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, 2017)
- Nearly 1 in 7 Colorado kids (14%) may not always know when or where they will get their next meal. (Colorado Children’s Campaign, 2018)
Such challenges keep people on society’s margins from reaching their God-given potential, and we feel deep compassion for homeless and hungry Coloradans. Our faith tradition emphatically calls on us to feed the hungry (Matthew 25:34, James 2:15-16) and provide shelter to others (Leviticus 25:35; Deuteronomy 15:7-11).
The 2018 “National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week” reminds us that much work remains beyond Nov. 10-18, 2018. We are faithfully committed in our efforts to join with those in the private and public sectors to find practical solutions to these perplexing social problems. We will persevere in these ministries until “living with dignity” is a reality for all Coloradans.
The Colorado Council of Churches represents 13 Christian denominations and 850 churches across the state of Colorado.
