The Inn Between is a crucial community resource that provides people facing homelessness with a safe place to live affordably, and supportive services that help program participants develop long term housing stability. The Inn Between Supportive Housing Program can be effective for many.

 

There is a tremendous gap in affordable housing options for low-income households in our community. The City of Longmont determined that approximately 2,000 more units are needed to reach their goal of adding 5,400 (12% of inventory) by the year 2035.  Few organizations or developers focus on building housing for people whose incomes are 40% Area Median Income (AMI) and below.

 

In response to the desperate need to assist people in this income range to remain housed, The Inn Between has become an active participant in attaining that goal through the acquisition of rental properties and converting them to affordable housing, or by constructing permanently affordable housing.  The Micah Home project, completed in 2020, was an example of how development of housing for households in this income range can be accomplished through multi-layered partnerships between churches, municipality, non-profits, and caring individuals and can be replicated.  This type of smaller construction is suitable as an in-fill option, financially less problematic, and easier for neighborhood acceptance to accomplish the goal of adding needed affordable inventory.

 

Early this year, our Executive Director visited with leadership members of Heart of Longmont Methodist Church to discuss the critical need to close the gap in affordable housing in our community, and asked them to consider ways they might participate in our strategic goal to build our housing capacity to further reach and reduce these critical housing gaps.

 

The Heart of Longmont congregation’s mission is "Putting more of God's love into the world", doing what they can to alleviate suffering in the world. In response to Tim’s request, Heart of Longmont Church (HOL) was inspired to participate in a collaborative development project with the Inn, similar to the one constructed on land donated by United Church of Christ, the Micah Homes Project through the donation of land. HOL determined that a 3/4 parcel of their church site could be utilized for permanent supportive housing (PSH) to assist low-income families.

 

John Wesley, the father of Methodism, is noted for his work in assisting the poor in avoiding homelessness. He lived by the adage “Earn all you can, save all you can and give all you can”. This adage and his words “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can”, compelled The Heart of Longmont to name the project, “Wesley Homes”.

 

With the generous donation of that 3/4 acre from HOL, The Inn Between will build eleven permanently affordable two and three bedroom apartments for families. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), between Heart of Longmont Church and The Inn Between has been executed, and The Inn Between Board of Directors supplied a Resolution with a commitment to move forward.