COVID-19 Campaign for the Comitis Crisis Center

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Due to the effects of COVID-19, the Comitis Crisis Center has dramatically seen an increase in costs for our food, supplies, and staffing. With schools closed, stay-at-home orders, record-breaking unemployment and the need for food accessibility, Comitis has launched this COVID-19 fundraising campaign. This campaign will help with unrestricted funds, emergency equipment and staff support to continue our services in spite of the strains placed on our community by COVID-19.

Comitis is the only 24/7 shelter in Aurora with a mission to provide emergency food, clothing, and shelter in a seamless continuum for families and individuals experiencing homelessness. A sub-program is the Aurora Day Resource Center (ADRC) which provides meals, laundry, showers and services during the day to those experiencing homelessness. Breakfast, lunch and dinners are prepared daily at Comitis and served both at Comitis and the ADRC. Those coming into the ADRC has increased by 50% and Comitis is almost always at capacity since the COVID-19 outbreak.

These funds will help cover shelter operations at the Comitis Crisis Center and the additional costs associated with new protocols caused by COVID-19 effects. Comitis started working early to address COVID-19 including stocking additional cleaning supplies, training staff and guests in proper cleaning and handwashing techniques, installing handwashing stations at every entrance and requiring everyone to use them. By March 15 admittance to Comitis was restricted to staff and guests, all volunteers and community groups were cancelled. In recent weeks, our kitchen produced a much greater quantity of food due to an increase of 50% in the number of people seeking meals. This increase is due to quarantine guidelines, school closures and their new reality of unemployment, including many who are hourly wage employees. Both new and previous clients count on us for their daily meals.

Comitis' full-time chef produces 150,000 meals annually out of one kitchen. He operates in limited space to manage food production. Due to the limited amount of refrigerator space at Comitis, we cannot stockpile food and are forced to shop frequently. We are also raising funds to purchase a new commercial grade refrigerator to enable us to store sufficient, healthy food to feed our growing numbers. This would alleviate the immediate problems with food storage.

Thank you for your consideration in supporting this campaign.

-Your friends at the Comitis Crisis Center