Celebrating 40 Years of Samaritan House Denver

Children play on the courtyard at Samaritan House. (Photo provided)

Most Coloradans know at least a little something about Samaritan House. Located in Denver, it became a staple in 1986 and made history as the first building in the nation designed specifically as a homeless shelter. Since that time, thousands of people have found safe shelter, nutritious meals and supportive services within its walls.

Today, Samaritan House primarily serves women, families and veterans experiencing homelessness and food insecurity. Catholic Charities, which operates Samaritan House, has also added four additional locations across the archdiocese: Two in Denver, as well as Samaritan House Fort Collins and Samaritan House Greeley on the Guadalupe Campus. The community we serve has evolved. Our mission remains the same.

A Shelter Built on Purpose

By the mid-1980s, homelessness in Denver had become an urgent moral and social crisis. The need was visible on downtown streets, but it became impossible to ignore during the blizzards of 1982. As temperatures plunged and snow piled high, two Catholic churches in downtown Denver did something simple and extraordinary: they opened their church doors so people without shelter could come inside and stay warm.

What began as a temporary gesture of mercy quickly grew into something larger — a movement shaped by faith, fueled by community and rooted in the belief that every person deserves dignity and care.

That spirit of compassion sparked a vision in Archbishop James V. Casey, who imagined something neither Denver nor the nation had never seen — a permanent shelter designed from the ground up specifically to serve people experiencing homelessness.

Not a repurposed basement. Not a converted warehouse. But a home built with purpose.

Before his death, Archbishop Casey broke ground on the new Samaritan House on July 31, 1985, his final major public act as archbishop. It was a moment marked by resolve and hope: a commitment that the Church would not turn away from suffering, but step toward it.

When then-Archbishop James F. Stafford succeeded him in 1986, he made the completion of Samaritan House one of his first priorities. Later that year, the vision became reality. Samaritan House was dedicated as the first building in the nation designed specifically as a homeless shelter — a groundbreaking commitment to serve neighbors not as problems to be managed, but as people to be welcomed.

The Vision and the Challenge

The decision to build Samaritan House was not without controversy. The neighborhood around 23rd and Lawrence Streets, economically depressed since the 1940s, was beginning to edge toward redevelopment. Some business owners feared that a shelter might deter investment.

But Catholic Charities and the Archdiocese pressed forward with faith, believing that a city’s future isn’t measured only in buildings and business growth, but in how it treats the most vulnerable.

“The goal was to build something that looked like a home, not an institution,” said Architect Jim Barker of Barker Rinker Seacat, explaining the guiding principle behind the design.

The result was a three-story red-brick building with a stepped façade and a bell tower that rose with quiet beauty. The tower echoed the campaniles of Italian cathedrals, a nod to the faith that inspired the work and the belief that love should be visible.

Inside, every space was created with intention: classrooms and recreation areas, sleeping quarters and family suites. Special care was given to women and children, prioritizing safety, comfort and belonging. In the courtyard, a colorful playground offered something even deeper than recreation: a sign that childhood joy still mattered here, that hope still belonged.

Faith and Providence in Brick and Mortar

The financing of Samaritan House became its own story of providence.

When the Archdiocese sold property next to Holy Ghost Parish in Denver to developers of a new office tower at 1999 Broadway, it received $8.5 million. Of that, $2.4 million was set aside to purchase land for the shelter. The remaining $6.17 million of the project cost came from generous donors, parishes, and foundations — an entire community uniting to turn compassion into concrete action.

Father Bill Kraus, the first Capuchin friar to direct the new shelter, called it “an experience in faith.”

Because Samaritan House wasn’t only a building. It was a promise held up by countless hands and carried forward by belief.

A Dedication that Became a Declaration

On November 20, 1986, then-Archbishop Stafford presided over the dedication and blessing of Samaritan House. Denver Mayor Federico Peña suggested renaming it from “Samaritan Shelter” to “Samaritan House,” emphasizing the dignity and permanence of what it truly was: not a temporary stop, but a place where lives could begin again.

Leaders from many faiths attended — Catholic, Jewish, Episcopalian — alongside city officials, clergy, residents and neighbors.

That day, then-Archbishop Stafford spoke words that still ring with urgency and truth: “The world of poverty is a world of death through neglect. Here we answer that neglect with love.”

A Legacy Still Growing

In the years that followed, Samaritan House quickly became a national model, transforming how America viewed homelessness and how communities could respond. It offered more than shelter. It offered opportunity.

Education. Job training. Counseling. A path to stability. A place where dignity was not earned, but given freely.

And it became part of something even larger: a continuum of care that recognized that homelessness isn’t solved by one night indoors, but by long-term support and housing that together restore stability.

Neighbors Helping Neighbors

In recent years, Catholic Charities has continued to invest in Samaritan House so it can meet the needs of today’s community with the same dignity and care it was founded on. Through capital campaign support, hundreds of donors came together to make critical renovations possible — ensuring Samaritan House remains safe, secure and welcoming for the women, families and veterans who turn to Catholic Charities in crisis. Today, there is a beautiful donor wall inside Samaritan House, recognizing the individuals and families whose generosity helped strengthen this home of hope.

Those renovations improved the spaces where healing and stability begin — upgraded bathrooms, updated recreational areas and enhancements to key service areas like the intake center, chapel, computer lab, childcare and teen rooms and family spaces. These changes allow our team to better serve guests with comprehensive support, including safe shelter, nutritious meals, program enrollment for children, connections to job training and case management, and material support for families who arrive with little more than what they can carry. With these updates complete, Samaritan House is better equipped than ever to provide a pathway forward for neighbors seeking safety, dignity and a fresh start.

For the families who come through its doors, that support can mean everything.

“My son and I fled our home in Rwanda and came here as refugees," shared Adela, a former resident on the family floor. "Samaritan House helped me find a job and save money. Now we’re moving into supportive housing. I pray every day, thanking God and Samaritan House for helping my son and me. Finally, we will have peace.”

Partnering to Improve Lives

The list of partners who work with Samaritan House is long and life-changing. One of those, Every Child Pediatrics at Samaritan House, launched in 2023, offers immunizations, wellness checks and treatment for common childhood illnesses. This pioneering clinic is believed to be the first pediatric facility in the nation located within a shelter, providing essential health care to hundreds of children each year. The clinic’s presence ensures that families experiencing homelessness have access to consistent, compassionate medical care.

Beyond the historic Lawrence Street location, Catholic Charities operates two additional Samaritan House locations in Denver: Samaritan House 48th Avenue and Samaritan House Smith Road, both dedicated to serving single women. Together, these locations make Catholic Charities the largest provider of shelter for single women in Colorado, extending our reach and impact to help more individuals find safety, stability and hope. In addition, Samaritan House Fort Collins and Samaritan House Greeley on the Guadalupe campus work together to improve the lives of neighbors across the Archdiocese of Denver.

Forty Years Later, the Mission Remains

Forty years after that first vision took shape, Samaritan House still stands as a landmark of mercy in Denver — not only for its architecture, but for what it represents.

A city that refused to look away.

A Church that chose to act.

A community that believed people deserve to be met with dignity, especially when life has knocked them down.

The needs in our city may shift over time, but the calling remains steady: to welcome, to serve and to walk alongside each person on the path forward.

After 40 years, Samaritan House — now with four additional locations — remains what it was always meant to be: a home for hope.