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35th Anniversary Background (1)

Celebrating 35 Years of Impact 

In 2026, Partners in Housing proudly marks 35 years of service, celebrating a journey that began in 1991 with a simple but powerful belief: that stable housing is the foundation for stronger individuals, families, and communities.

For more than three decades, Partners in Housing has worked alongside donors, partners, and volunteers to provide housing stability, supportive services, and opportunities for people to build lasting independence. What started as a vision has grown into a trusted organization rooted in compassion, accountability, and community connection.

As we reflect on 35 years of progress, we honor the resilience of the families we serve, the dedication of our staff and volunteers, and the unwavering support of our partners and donors who have made this work possible.

This anniversary is not just a milestone- it’s a moment to recommit to the work ahead. Together, we look forward to the next chapter of creating pathways to stability, self-reliance, and prosperity.

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30th Anniversary - 1991
  • Partners in Housing Gets It’s Start!
  • Catching up with founding board members, Doug Carter and Chris Acker through two five-minute video interviews.

Doug Carter: "I remember we started with five families. Apartments in Colorado Springs were 12% vacant, so they were experiencing their own economic hardships. But that vacancy is what allowed for some owners to say, yea, we've got a vacant in the corner, we got so many vacant, we're happy to give you one. So those five apartments are what we started with, with five families. Now you're over 100 families being served [a year]. Over 30 years, 4,000 families, 10,000 children..."

1992 Gib Lane
  • Our First Property Acquisition!
  • 1992 Partner Family Success: A letter from one of the first mothers in the Family Self-Sufficiency Program

Suleeta R. Fulton: "Partners in Housing literally came to the rescue... As a single mother with three children, words cannot express how much Partners in Housing's help touched my heart at a time when things seemed dark and hopeless."

Richard Conn Video
  • Meet Ret. Colonel Richard Conn, Partners in Housing’s first Executive Director
  • Our First Office
  • Our First Logo

"From a lot of 1993, 1994, our effort was in expanding our agency so that we could serve more folks, but we wanted to own everything. We wanted the community to know that we were there for the long haul, not the short run. And the way to that I felt was to show that we were investing in the community on a full-time, long-range basis."

Single Family Home- Grey
  • Partners in Housing acquires five HUD homes!

These homes had been leased to Partners in Housing for use in our program, but we were excited to move forward in acquiring them!

Along with a grant back from HUD, funding from the City of Colorado Springs, and the State of Colorado Division of Housing, the five homes were added to the Partners in Housing inventory for long-term support of the community.

Chelley Gardner Smith and Mayor (1)
  • From Program Graduate to Board President, a letter from Chelley Gardner-Smith

A couple of emails ago, we traveled back to 1993 and shared our interview with Partners in Housing’s First Executive Director, retired USAF Colonel, Richard Conn. During that interview, Richard said the following memorable quote:

“…we had successful families that went through some very challenging times, but wound up being extremely productive members of the community…one of the great thrills I had was when one of our family graduates actually became my boss at one time. She became President of the Board of Directors and was originally a Partner family at Partners in Housing.”

Check out the link above to read Chelley’s letter!

1999- 35th anniversary review- we moved four homes in 24 hours!
  • Partners in Housing moved FOUR homes in 24 hours!

Partners in Housing took advantage of tremendous opportunities in 1999 in acquiring properties used to serve the families in our program! Three of these homes were donated to Partners in Housing by Colorado College and along with funding from many sources, the homes were put on permanent foundations and are still used by Partners in Housing today.

Check out the link above to read the full story!

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Thank you to our 35th Anniversary Sponsors

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First Bank
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