The Action Center, which provides food, housing and emergency services to 20,000 people in Jefferson County annually, announced Tuesday that it will suspend its shelter program starting this weekend due to budget constraints.

The 50-year-old nonprofit runs a 22-bed homeless shelter on West Colfax Avenue in Lakewood, which provided nearly 6,250 nights of shelter in 2017.

The Action Center’s announcement comes six months after Arapahoe House, the state’s largest treatment provider for drug and alcohol addiction, closed its doors after 42 years due to financial troubles.

The Action Center’s board of directors made the decision last week to suspend the shelter program in an effort to keep the organization “financially stable,” but waited until Tuesday to make the announcement as it tried to figure out how to find new housing for those it currently serves.

“While the work of the shelter is critical to the families it serves, the operational costs of the shelter greatly impact the resources for the organization’s other services,” the center said in a news release.

The Action Center cited “leadership transition” and “changes on our development team” over the last half-year for missing fundraising goals, which “is taking a toll on our cash flow.” Pam Brier was named The Action Center’s new executive director in May.

In an interview Tuesday, Brier said the Action Center has been scrambling to find new homes for those who are using the organization’s shelter in Lakewood.

“We hope all of them will be safely housed by Saturday,” Brier said.

She said the building that has served as a shelter is owned by the Action Center, which is reaching out to other human services organizations to see if they can continue to operate it as a facility to help the homeless.

“We hope the building will be used for this purpose,” Brier said. “This is a very critical need. That is why we’re so committed to finding partners to keep this going.”

The Action Center said it made the move so that it could continue providing other services to those in need in Jefferson County, including crisis stabilization, food, clothing, and access to workforce development, continuing education and health care options.

In 2017, the Action Center provided 628,410 meals, $235,000 in utility assistance, 230,000 clothing items, and school supplies for more than 5,000 children.

The closure of the center’s homeless shelter comes amidst a larger pushback from city leaders, business owners and residents in Lakewood to a proposed project that would provide shelter for up to 1,000 homeless people on 59 acres of federal land near the Federal Center.

The homelessness problem has intensified in metro Denver as housing prices continue to march inexorably higher month after month.

The Action Center is seeking cash donations with the goal of raising $1 million by the end of the year. To support the Action Center, go to theactioncenterco.org or call 303-237-7704.