Poverty? In Douglas County? That's hard to believe.

When people think of Douglas County, I can't tell you how often they say there's no poverty here.

But come to my office any day of the week, and I'll show you poverty.

I've been here four years, and we've gone from seeing primarily single mothers to two-parent families where both parents are working several jobs.

We're in a very wealthy county, and a lot of what's going on now has to do with the fact that people moved into the county with decent jobs, and since they've been here they've lost their jobs. They're in houses they can't afford with those adjustable rate mortgages, and it's killing people.

We see people every day and they're weeping because they're losing their home. And we have the horror stories of people who are in these desperate situations because of some medical thing.

They have huge medical bills and no insurance. Or people who are disabled and they're in their third year of waiting to find out if their application for disability payments will be approved.

How did the Task Force begin?

It started in 1984 when some local parishioners of several Castle Rock churches joined forces to create a central location for people in need. They were upset about the number of people who were falling through the cracks. And they wanted to discourage people from going from church to church to church seeking handouts.

One of the parishioners opened up her garage in her home, and that became our first office. Since that time, we've now grown to owning our own building.

Are you still funded by the churches?

The churches are very generous, but they're no longer our primary funding source now.

We operate a thrift store, which provides a third of our revenue.

We also write grants and receive other donations. We're not affiliated with any church now. And you don't have to be a church person to use our services.

What services do you provide?

Providing food is our largest service. Last year, we gave away more than $300,000 worth of food.

We also provide some rental assistance. We can help a little with eviction and foreclosure notices, but we have just a small amount for that.

We pay for a lot of utility assistance - electric, heat and water bills.

We also provide emergency overnight lodging, and give gas vouchers to those going to job interviews or doctor appointments.

We have some emergency prescription assistance, and offer clothing and household items from our thrift store.

We also have the birthday room, where we have new gifts for parents who are unable to provide gifts for their children on their birthdays. Or if a child is going to a birthday party, and they need to bring a gift, they can choose something from in there, so the child can attend the party and not be embarrassed about not having a gift to bring.

Can you recall an instance in which you really made a difference in someone's life?

One case that really sticks in my mind is not one where we made a huge difference, but we made a huge effort.

We've got a family, a single mom with a young child and a teenager who has Marfan's Syndrome.

He has a lot of medical problems, and he was going to have life-threatening surgery.

His dad lives in Illinois, and he wanted to see his dad before the surgery.

We had some frequent flier miles, so we sent him out there.

It wasn't the visit the kid hoped for, but he did get to see his father. And now he has a renewed appreciation for his mother and what she does for him.

She's extremely supportive, just really knocks herself out to do everything she can for him.

Douglas/Elbert Task Force

* Mission: To meet the immediate needs of residents of Douglas and Elbert counties who are at risk of becoming homeless, and to help them work through troublesome times with dignity.

* Founded: 1984

* Staff: Seven part time, one full time

* Volunteers: About 125

* Budget: About $600,000

* Web site: comminis try-denver.org