Beginning Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, some 984 little purple houses will be hidden in public locations across Northern Colorado, including workplaces, faith communities, libraries and other community spaces.
Each of the 984 houses represents just one of the 984 adults and children–known to Murphy Center by name–who are currently experiencing homelessness in Northern Colorado and are in a pool of people seeking a housing resource.
Our unhoused neighbors are often “hidden in plain sight”—just like the little purple houses placed throughout our community. This campaign aims to make visible the real human beings represented by each house, educate our community about the collaborative work of the Murphy Center Partner Council, and to inspire people to act. Each house is packaged with an informational insert. Twelve white houses have also been hidden, each one representing one of the twelve unhoused people who died last year in Northern Colorado while waiting for housing.
The campaign is a project of the Murphy Center Partner Council, which is comprised of eight independent, non-profit organizations working collaboratively within and outside the walls of the Murphy Center for Hope, and in partnership with the Northern Colorado Continuum of Care. Partner agencies include Catholic Charities, Crossroads Safehouse, Family Housing Network, Fort Collins Rescue Mission, Homeward Alliance, The Matthews House, Outreach Fort Collins and SummitStone Health Partners.
Together the Murphy Center Partner Council agencies outreach, shelter, support and serve unhoused and unstably housed youth, families, individuals, veterans, seniors and those fleeing domestic violence across Fort Collins and beyond. These organizations are united in the common goal to make homelessness in our community rare, short-lived and non-recurring.
“We are encouraging anyone who finds a house, or learns about our campaign, to take the Little Purple House Challenge,” says Pam Brewer, development director at Homeward Alliance. “You can fulfill the challenge by choosing an action that is meaningful to you. That might mean volunteering with one of our partner agencies, making a small donation or attending the Mission to Hope Walk on Saturday, Oct. 5.”
For information on the Little Purple House Campaign and tangible ways you can make a difference, please visit homewardalliance.org/murphy-center/little-purple-house or follow Homeward Alliance on social media. If you find a house, you’re invited to visit the website to map the location of your little house. The campaign ends on World Homelessness Day, Thursday, Oct. 10.
