La Puente Home

Our services include: a homeless shelter (45 beds averaging 700 people each year), a soup kitchen (50,000 meals/year) a self-sufficiency program for homeless families, a homeless prevention program, 15 food pantries scattered around the Valley (serving more than 25% of the SLV's populations), a food recovery program following the farm harvest, thre... e community thrift stores, and a coffee house. La Puente is located in Colorado's San Luis Valley (SLV), in south central Colorado and touches the New Mexico Border. Though the area is pristine in its mountainous beauty, it is host of 4 of the 6 poorest counties in Colorado. La Puente is the lead organization in a collective AmeriCorps program called the Rural Alliance for Dignity (RAD). RAD serves specifically in rural communities around Colorado and provides a range of services from tutoring, hunger relief, to serving the homeless. RAD has multiple programs to choose from. La Puente's RAD program utilizes 36 AmeriCorps members annually to work the front-lines of all of our services. It's a great opportunity to serve and meet many like-minded people. AmeriCorps Members experience community on many different levels as they form relationships with their housemates, co-workers, and the community as a whole. Members experience intentional community living, working cooperatively to create a lifestyle that reflects their shared core values. United by commitment to a shared vision, participants renew and encourage each other while challenging one another to form honest and open relationships. Members are also encouraged to practice community in a larger sense as they immerse themselves in the culture of the local area. Members live on less and strive to practice simplicity. This commitment is more than attempting to live within a monthly budget; it is a shift of focus that comes with thoughtful analysis of your lifestyle and values. Spending a year centered less on money and consumption and more on deeper sources of satisfaction can free members to experience the value of ...Read More