Denver Rescue Mission plans to lay off 71 employees at the end of the year after its contract with the city to operate the 48th Avenue Center comes to a close. The nonprofit filed a layoff notice with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment on October 30, citing the termination of its agreement to run the shelter at 4600 E. 48th Ave., near Interstate 70 and Colorado Boulevard.
The job cuts affect custodians, chefs, community coordinators, intake specialists and case managers, according to the organization's notice, as reported by The Denver Post. The shelter has provided men with overnight beds, three meals a day, bathrooms and other support services, and Denver Rescue Mission describes the location as operating around the clock in partnership with the city, according to Denver Rescue Mission.
Nonprofit Says It Didn't Seek a New Deal
Denver opened bidding for new shelter-management contracts covering 2027, but Denver Rescue Mission did not apply to continue operating the 48th Avenue Center, according to Julia Marvin as reported by the Post. The organization's chief external relations officer, Alexxa Gagner, said the decision was part of broader strategic planning and a shift toward trauma-informed, dignified care, the newspaper reported. Gagner added that the Mission is moving away from large warehouse-style shelter models.
Gagner said she hopes the 71 affected employees will be hired by whoever takes over running the shelter next, per the same account. The city has not identified a planned manager for the 48th Avenue Center, and the Post's report does not establish who will run the site once Denver Rescue Mission's contract ends.
Services Expected to Continue Without Gap
Denver's Department of Housing Stability plans to discuss 2027 shelter-service provider contracts at a committee meeting next Tuesday, according to Marvin. Marvin said there will be no interruption to services at the site despite the operator change, the Post reported.
Denver Rescue Mission's future role in its other Denver-area programs remains unclear, according to the Post's reporting. The organization also runs the Lawrence Street Shelter in downtown Denver, a community center at 2222 Lawrence St., The Crossing life-skills training center on Smith Road, a ministry outreach center that distributes food and furniture, a shelter in Fort Collins, and a 100-acre farm in Wellington.
A Shelter Built From a City Purchase
The city first leased the 48th Avenue building in September 2020 before it opened in 2021, according to Denverite. Denverite reported that Denver later purchased the 82,000-square-foot facility for $7,548,000 using RISE Denver General Obligation bond money, while a city project summary listed the RISE Denver funded amount for the acquisition at $7.4 million. The same project summary described the facility as serving up to 600 guests, while Denverite reported the shelter serves up to 515 men experiencing homelessness; a separate Denver Rescue Mission post put the number of people it could serve daily at the location at 450. The evidence does not clarify how these differing figures relate to one another.
Denver Rescue Mission has also noted that Catholic Charities now operates its previous 48th Avenue shelter space, providing services there for women experiencing homelessness, the organization said.
Layoffs Land Amid Shrinking Shelter Funding
The cuts come as Denver's shelter system faces broader financial pressure. The city's Department of Housing Stability requested $71.6 million from the general fund in its 2026 spending plan, down 0.13% from the prior year, according to Colorado Politics. The department also expected to lose nearly $33 million in programmatic funding, the outlet reported.
That funding squeeze has pushed the city to focus in 2026 on shortening shelter stays to speed exits into permanent housing, Colorado Politics reported. Average stays in city-run shelters had run consistently above 210 days about a year and a half earlier but have since dropped to roughly 180 days, according to the outlet's reporting.
