Donated cars give Denver Rescue Mission clients new freedom
CBS Colorado is partnered with the Denver Rescue Mission to Spread the Warmth this winter. We're raising awareness and collecting donations to support the work the Rescue Mission does to bring people inside and out of the cold.
In addition to providing emergency shelter services, every guest can access hot meals and staff members who will help them navigate the steps it takes to get into sustainable housing.
The Denver Rescue Mission also has a program that addresses drug addiction and housing, called the New Life Program. New Life is a 9-month to a year-long program that offers clients a sober community, temporary housing, spiritual guidance, and access to case management. The program gives clients the time and space they need to rebuild their lives. At the end of the program, some clients are gifted a car.
"Part of the goal is full-time employment, and if they're going to graduate and have full-time employment, they need a way of transportation," said Jay McKinley, director of the Rescue Mission's Ministry Outreach Center.
The Denver Rescue Mission's Give a Vehicle program accepts vehicles in any condition. If a vehicle no longer runs and can't be fixed, the Rescue Mission can sell it for scrap and put the money back into the program.
"People have donated classic cars and very nice vehicles that we can sell at auction and take the money and put it back into the program," McKinley explained.
The most desirable donations are vehicles that need moderate repairs and have been gently loved.
"We have a full-time mechanic who will do an inspection on the vehicle, and he'll earmark those vehicles that he thinks will be a good fit," McKinley told CBS News Colorado.
Eddie has been that mechanic for two-and-a-half years. He's been in the business for 43 years and calls this the best job yet. On a budget of $500 per car, he's dedicated to giving graduates the best vehicle they can get.
"If you want to help someone in our community, if you want to help men and women who are trying to improve their lives, it's just a wonderful practical way to give back," McKinley added.
The donation is tax-deductible, and the gift literally changes lives. Lloyd Gayhardt recently graduated from the New Life Program and will soon be getting a car.
"I'm thankful and I'm blessed that I kind of get to restart," he told CBS News Colorado.
Gayhardt struggled with meth addiction, spent time in prison, and lived on the streets.
"I was living in a tent before and didn't know where to go from there," he recalled.
He ended up in the New Life Program and now has 17 months sober.
"They helped me to rebuild my relationship with my children, with my sisters, and with the Lord," he said. "My kids are in Littleton. For me to have to go all the way out there from here, it's a two-and-a-half hour bus ride."
Getting a car means that Gayhardt can see his children every weekend. He will also be able to volunteer as a peer recovery specialist, driving around other New Life Program members to appointments and on errands.
"It's extra that I'm giving back for what I was given," Gayhardt said.
The Denver Rescue Mission receives about 250 to 270 vehicle donations every year and gifts 60 to 70 of them to program graduates. Each recipient needs to have a valid driver's license, the means to pay for registration, insurance, and basic upkeep of the car. The Give a Vehicle program is another way the Denver Rescue Mission provides its clients with a new life.
The Spread the Warmth campaign accepts donations of money or warm weather gear that the Denver Rescue Mission can then use to keep people warm this winter.
