Pueblo Shelter Successfully Operated Emergency Shelter 365 Days a Year

PUEBLO-The Pueblo Shelter has successfully operated the emergency shelter location at 710 W. 4th St. for over a year. SafeSide Recovery has designated the 710 W. 4th St. emergency shelter location, "The Relief Shelter."

October 30, 2025, marked a year of ownership, since the City of Pueblo received the deed from the former Pueblo Rescue Mission and took over the operations and oversight of The Pueblo Shelter.

"Last year we worked diligently with community partners, former staff and our City staff to get the emergency shelter at The Pueblo Shelter operational and now it serves our city year-round," said Mayor of Pueblo Heather Graham.

The Relief Shelter offers a safe, dignified place to rest and stay protected from severe weather. Previously the Mayor's Office issued an emergency declaration with a specific timeframe for when the emergency shelter is open, however the Pueblo City Council approved an ordinance on December 23, 2024, amending zoning restrictions to rezone 710, 724 and 728 W. 4th St. from B-4, Central Business Zone District to S-1, Government Use Zone District. Ordinance No. 10875 allows the 710 W. 4th St. building to operate as an emergency shelter year-round without zoning restriction for congregate shelter stipulations.

"Emergency shelter declarations are no longer necessary for The Relief Shelter location due to updated zoning for both locations at 710 and 728 W. 4th St.," said Mayor Graham. "This allows the emergency shelter to operate 365 days a year regardless of weather or other circumstances, so our unhoused communities' needs are met year-round."

Mayor Graham is still able to issue emergency shelter declarations if The Relief Shelter reaches capacity and is unable to accommodate all of the City's unhoused individuals at 710 W. 4th St. and the 728 W. 4th St. residential program location. With previous emergency shelter declarations churches, synagogues and other entities have operated overnight shelters to serve unhoused individuals seeking services.

"Our team is ready to serve the unhoused community of Pueblo, whether it's through our overnight emergency shelter operations or if it's through our residential program," said President of SafeSide Recovery Rob Miller.

During some of the coldest nights of both 2024 and in 2025, The Relief Shelter location averaged over 70 individuals seeking services overnight. The emergency shelter location can accommodate up to 90 individuals per night.

Emergency sheltering operations include safe and separate overnight sheltering for male and female guests. The Relief Shelter is designed to be as low-barrier and welcoming as possible with an emphasis on safety for all seeking overnight shelter.

Miller explained, "We've added many partnerships this year to our 710 location, which we call The Relief Shelter, in addition to emergency sheltering. This includes a walk-in clinic with Pueblo Community Health Center, peer recovery services, the WORKS program with Catholic Charities of Southern Colorado and our outreach program. Safeside Recovery continues to look for partners and ways to better serve our unhoused community."

The Pueblo Shelter provides a community meal service on a daily basis. Meals are served at 4:30 p.m. for anyone in the community who needs a meal located at 728 W. 4th St .

The Pueblo Shelter with SafeSide Recovery also offers a residential program which provides safe, supporting housing and recovery-focused services. The residential program has peer-led super for individuals who are sober and ready to make a positive change in their life with accountability with structured recovery programming. SafeSide Recovery focuses on supporting addiction and mental health recovery while helping residents secure stable employment and long-term housing.

For more information about SafeSide Recovery and The Pueblo Shelter visit The Pueblo Shelter website or The SafeSide Foundation website.