The Chaffee County Board of County Commissioners and Department of Human Services were recently able to make another positive financial impact for a priority project within the community, approving a donation of $350,000 to support Chaffee Housing Authority’s Jane’s Place project. 

The contribution is a special, one-time budget reallocation that will transfer funds from the DHS reserves to support construction of the adaptive housing project at the intersection of 3rd & Highway 291 in Salida. Jane’s Place will bring 17 apartments to the Salida community, designed to serve immediate local housing needs for seasonal employees, local workforce, families and individuals in crisis, and Americorps volunteers. In addition, the project will include a nonprofit shared working space and social enterprise coffee shop. 

DHS Director Dave Henson commented, “Housing continues to be an area of great need for the families and kids we serve through DHS. The creative model that is being implemented through Jane’s Place can help us provide housing stability for our clients and improve on-going access to other supportive services through this direct partnership with the Chaffee Housing Authority.”

The Department of Human Services and BOCC budgeted a total of $1 million for one-time local project support in 2022, leveraging the DHS fund balance reserve to support mission-aligned initiatives in the county. In addition to this funding provided to Jane’s Place, DHS supported a $500,000 contribution to the Boys and Girls Club of Chaffee County in December for its Buena Vista facility. The BOCC also continues to evaluate ways to support early childhood-related needs within the County and expects to apply the remaining balance of the one-time DHS allocation to this cause in the coming months.

Jan Schmidt, DHS’ Finance Manager, explained, “DHS is pleased to have the opportunity to support other local human services needs – including solutions like Jane’s Place – through use of our reserves. We consider these projects to be complementary to our core work and believe they will help deepen DHS’ positive impacts.”

Chaffee Housing Authority (CHA) Director Becky Gray shared her appreciation, “This contribution to Jane’s Place demonstrates significant commitment and support for innovative affordable housing interventions like Jane’s Place. Our partnership with DHS continues to grow more collaborative, and I look forward to how these collaborations will play out at Jane’s Place.”

The Chaffee Housing Authority estimates that development costs for Jane’s Place will be approximately $4.55 million. With the Chaffee County contribution, CHA has secured nearly $2,645,000 in support to through grants, foundation support, donations and contribution from the City of Salida. The Jane’s Place Capital Campaign Committee reports that many local donors have contributed to the project, totaling more than $375,000 in community contributions.

More information about the Chaffee Housing Authority Jane’s Place project can be found at https://www.housinghealthchaffee.org/janesplace.

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Dan R

Danny “Dan R” Ridenour has been in radio and television broadcasting for over 40 years, starting as a senior in high school in Rogers, Arkansas. His radio career has had stops in Nashville, Memphis, Oklahoma, and eventually, Colorado. Dan enjoys being involved in the community, having been a member of the Upper Arkansas Service Club and is currently on the board of directors for the Salida Community Center and is a member of the Chaffee County Fair Committee. He and his wife Carrie spend their days doing everything the mountains have to offer: hiking, camping, fishing and skiing. They've raised 3 children and have 2 grandchildren.

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