Our work

2024 Laundry Love Project

Laundry Love washes the clothes and bedding of low/no income families and person(s).

Here in Durango, the Neighbors in Need Interfaith Alliance has partnered with NINA and Manna to staff and support this program every third Wednesday of each month at North Main Laundry.

2023 Creation of NINIA

Neighbors in Need Interfaith Alliance (NINIA) is composed of individuals and faith-based organizations that collaborate and work together to reach out to those less fortunate in our community. NINIA works to create a community where everyone can live with dignity and have access to a safe place to live.

Advocacy

March 2023

NINA sponsored a Candidate Forum on Housing and Homelessness for all candidates for the Durango City Council.

SEPTEMBER 2022

NINA and Project Moxie advocated for unhoused at Purple Cliffs to the City Council through a letter with over 500 signatures to provide designated camping areas and car camping when Purple Cliffs closed.

NOVEMBER 2021

NINA, in collaboration with Project Moxie, hosted a community webinar on "Supporting our Unhoused Neighbors with a Managed Camp".

MARCH 2021

NINA sponsored a Candidate Forum for all candidates for Durango City Council on Homelessness and Affordable Housing.

MARCH 2020

NINA hosted Nicole Martinez to speak to community and advocates regarding best practice model "Camp Hope" in Los Cruces, NM.

La Plata 2022 unhoused count & survey

In May of 2022, NINA partnered with Project Moxie to conduct a tally count of unhoused community members living in the region, as well as a survey that collected demographic information and invited participants to respond to open-ended questions about their lived experience.

Proposed Managed Community

This safe, clean, designated site for unhoused residents will help ensure that our neighbors in need have a safe place to sleep, while connecting individuals experiencing homelessness to services and a path to being housed. The camp is a viable alternative to the camping currently prevalent in our neighborhoods, and the end result is:

A cleaner, safer, community that works better for everyone.

Purple Cliffs Shelter & warmth

Purple Cliffs was Durango's only legally sanctioned camp, closed 9/30/22. Some of us lived there, and some of us partnered to help with practical needs as they arose.

Security Lockers

Considering the information NINA received after interviewing a significant number of our unhoused neighbors in the spring of 2019, it became clear to us that lockers would be a great help for those who are unhoused. The requested was for a safe place to keep belongings, important papers, and other items of value.‍

Using a model from Lisbon, Portugal, we decided to implement a pilot project of 6 lockers. The lockers were installed at Durango's Transit Center, where 24-hour security cameras and lighting is provided. 

The program was suspended in 2023 and the lockers were removed.