A year ago, Charles Rath was in jail on charges of selling methamphetamine. He had a drinking and drug problem and was estranged from his only child.

“I was done,” he said. “I was broken. I was going nowhere.”

Now, thanks to a transitional housing program run by the Denver Rescue Mission at The Crossing, he has a job, a car and, most important, a close relationship with his 12-year-old daughter, Davyna.

The safety and support the two received through what is called the STAR transitional housing program has father and daughter thriving. Davyna stays Monday through Friday with her father at The Crossing, a former hotel transformed into housing units for the homeless. She spends weekends with her mother. Davyna said the program changed her father’s life.

“Without this program,” she said, “he might be in prison.”

These days, her 36-year-old father coaches her softball team. The tutoring she receives at The Crossing has her finally understanding the math tests that used to trip her up at school. She receives guitar lessons at The Crossing and has learned the importance of saving money.

Rath’s travails started six years ago when he moved from San Jose, Calif., to the Denver area to try to reunite with his daughter, who had relocated to Colorado with her mother.

Moving to Colorado wasn’t easy. He struggled to find work and soon became homeless.

“All I had was the clothes on my back,” Rath recalled. “I was bouncing from shelter to shelter.”

When he ended up in jail facing charges of dealing meth, he overheard an inmate talking about the transitional housing program.

He wrote a letter seeking entry and was accepted after his release from jail.

“This program helped get me back in touch with the Lord, and back into a career and helped me stay sober,” Rath said.

The STAR transitional program focuses on giving long-term stable housing to families in need. Last year it provided services to 212 households.

Rath said the program, located in a refurbished hotel on East Smith Road in Denver, is crucial for two reasons.

First, it puts an end to the cycle of searching for shelter because it provides long-term housing, meals included, to the homeless.

It also forces participants to begin to take ownership of their lives through training in budgeting and new job skills. Computer classes and other programs help knit the downtrodden back into the community, he said.

Those enrolled also are enlisted to work in the kitchen or laundry room, or to clean or perform maintenance.

Program officials helped Rush obtain the professional license he needed to work on heating and air conditioning systems. Now he has a full-time job. The program also teaches participants budgeting skills.

Rath saved up enough money to buy a 2013 Ford Focus, but that is only the beginning of his plans. He is saving up for the day when he can buy his own home. “I couldn’t have done it without this place,” Rath said. “I didn’t know where I was going a year ago.”

STAR transitional housing program

In operation since: The Denver Rescue Mission was established in 1892; The Crossing was established in 2005.

Number served last year: 212 households

Yearly budget: $2 million

Percentage of funds given directly to clients and services: 79 percent