Aid stations 

Day-to-day living is already an uphill slog, then all of a sudden there's a layoff. Or a breakup. Or a fall, and a broken hip. It's at times like these when our nonprofits and community-based agencies create a safety net that helps you get your life back together. If, on the other hand, your life is in a period of calm and stability, you might want to help hold the net for somebody else by giving your time or donations to these and other great groups — check out "Nonprofit-driven."

24-7 HOTLINES

Pikes Peak United Way

2-1-1, ppunitedway.org

Provides referrals for assistance with rent/mortgage, utilities or medical/prescriptions, housing/shelter, senior services and family support.

Suicide Prevention Partnership of the Pikes Peak Region

596-5433, pikespeaksuicideprevention.org

Counsels callers through crisis and connects them with resources that help steer them away from suicide.

TESSA (domestic violence/sexual assault advocacy)

633-3819, tessacs.org

Provides intervention, information and community referral services to victims.

Animal Welfare

Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region

610 Abbott Lane, 473-1741, hsppr.org

Handles cruelty and welfare investigations, and provides adoption services.

Community Health

While Memorial and Penrose-St. Francis hospitals, and multiple urgent care facilities, serve the whole community, a few options exist specifically for those who are low-income, uninsured or underinsured. When in need, start here.

El Paso County Department of Health and Environment

1675 W. Garden of the Gods Road, #2044, 578-3199, elpasocountyhealth.org

Provides health services and referrals by appointment, offering sliding-scale payments.

El Paso County Department of Human Services

1675 W. Garden of the Gods Road, 636-0000, dhs.elpasoco.com

Offers temporary food assistance, responds to child abuse/neglect leads, and more.

Peak Vista Community Health Centers

Multiple locations, 632-5700, peakvista.org

Offers medical and dental care and behavioral services for qualifying low-income, uninsured and underinsured individuals and families.

SET Family Medical Clinics

825 E. Pikes Peak Ave., 776-8850, setofcs.org

Provides basic medical services, by appointment, for qualifying low-income, uninsured and underinsured people.

Disaster/Emergency Relief

American Red Cross Pikes Peak Chapter

1040 S. Eighth St., 632-3563, pparc.org

Offers training and awareness for CPR/AED, and disaster relief and training.

Employment Assistance

Colorado Department of Labor and Employment

Denver, tinyurl.com/co-dept-employment

Accepts unemployment claims at 800/388-5515.

Pikes Peak Workforce Center

1675 W. Garden of the Gods Road, 667-3700, ppwfc.org

Inside the county's Citizens Service Center, Provides job listings, training, workshops, a resource room and résumé-writing assistance.

Equality Advocacy

Citizens Project

4360 Montebello Drive, 520-9899, citizensproject.org

Works in advocacy for civic equality. Offers nonpartisan voting guides to the public, as well as other political information.

Colorado Springs Branch NAACP

603 S. El Paso St., 475-7255, coloradospringsnaacp.org

Advocates for social, educational and civic equality for underrepresented persons.

Urban League of the Pikes Peak Region

6 S. Tejon St., 8th Floor, 634-1525, ulppr.org

Advocates for the equality of the African-American community, other minority communities and the socioeconomically disadvantaged.

Homeless Services

Interfaith Hospitality Network of Colorado Springs

519 N. Tejon St., 329-1244, ihn-cos.org

Provides short-term transitional housing for families with children in homeless situations.

Peak Vista Homeless Health Center

117 W. Rio Grande St., 471-2789, peakvista.org

Provides health/dental and behavioral health services for homeless persons.

Salvation Army

R.J. Montgomery New Hope Center, 709 S. Sierra Madre St., 578-9190, tsacs.org/services.html

Meets day-to-day needs and offers meals, case management and more for homeless persons.

Springs Rescue Mission

5 W. Las Vegas St., 632-1822, mysrm.org

Assists the homeless through an interdenominational service program.

Hunger Relief

Care and Share Food Bank for Southern Colorado

2605 Preamble Point, 528-1247, careandshare.org

Provides food to hundreds of area nonprofits; no individual distribution, but local referrals offered.

Marian House

14 W. Bijou St., 475-7314, ccharitiescs.org

Serves food to the needy Monday through Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Sundays, 8:45 a.m. to 10 a.m., as an arm of Catholic Charities of Central Colorado.

Legal Services

Colorado Legal Services

617 S. Nevada Ave., 471-0380, coloradolegalservices.org

Helps provide access to civil legal services for qualifying low-income persons.

LGBTQ Services

Colorado Anti-Violence Program

Denver, 888/557-4441 (24-hour hotline), coavp.org

Provides resources and support in response to discrimination and violence within and against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) communities.

Pikes Peak Gay and Lesbian Community Center (the Pride Center)

2508 E. Bijou St., 471-4429, ppglcc.org

Provides health and wellness resources and offers HIV testing on the third Thursday of each month, plus an Internet café.

Mental Health SERVICES

AspenPointe

Multiple locations, 572-6100, aspenpointe.org

Formerly Pikes Peak Behavioral Health Group, assists qualifying clients with behavioral health and substance abuse services.

Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA)

2132 E. Bijou St., #112, 477-1515, dbsacoloradosprings.org

Offers free support groups for people with mood disorders (as well as their family and friends), depression screenings, a resource library, and more.

Suicide Prevention Partnership of the Pikes Peak Region

704 N. Tejon St., 573-7447, pikespeaksuicideprevention.org

Runs a 24-7 hotline for those contemplating suicide (see "24-7 Hotlines" above), and provides education, intervention and "postvention," which is grief support for children and teens.

STI and Infectious Disease Services

El Paso County Department of Health and Environment

1675 W. Garden of the Gods Road, #2044, 578-3199, elpasocountyhealth.org

Provides low-income patients with STI testing, including rapid HIV testing, by appointment only and with a sliding-scale payment system.

Southern Colorado AIDS Project (S-CAP)

1301 S. Eighth St., #200, 578-9092, s-cap.org

Offers confidential testing by appointment only, as well as client support and referral. Raises community awareness and educates on prevention.

Veterans' Issues

American Legion

Multiple locations, legion.org

Advocates for, and provides support and companionship for, all veterans.

Disabled American Veterans

6880 Palmer Park Blvd., 591-8787, dav.orgAdvocates and provides resources for all disabled veterans.

El Paso County Veteran's Services

5850 Championship View, Suite D, 520-7750, adm.elpasoco.com

Advises and assists veterans on benefits and other related resources.

Retired Enlisted Association

834 Emory Circle, 596-0927, trea.org

Advocates for veterans, with chapter locations statewide.

VA Colorado Springs Clinic

25 N. Spruce St. and 320 E. Fontanero St., 327-5660, va.gov/health

Provides primary care services for veterans in the Colorado Springs area.

Veterans of Foreign Wars

Multiple locations, vfw.org

Supports and advocates for veterans who were involved in conflicts overseas.

Victim Advocacy

Colorado Springs Police Victim Advocacy Program

705 S. Nevada Ave., 444-7777, springsgov.com

Ensures that victims understand their rights and have their needs met throughout the criminal justice process.

Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance (COVA)

Denver, 800/261-2682, coloradocrimevictims.org

Provides advocacy, education and resources for crime victims statewide.

Violence/Rape Crisis

TESSA

435 Gold Pass Heights, 633-1462, tessacs.org

Runs 24-7 hotline for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault (see "24-7 Hotlines," above), and offers a safehouse and advocacy services providing all kinds of support to victims.

Youth Resources

safe2tell

P.O. Box 49296, Colorado Springs, CO 80949, 520-7435, 877/542-7233 (SAFE), safe2tell.org

Accepts reports from young people about activities or behaviors that endanger them or someone they know, keeping them anonymous and safe.

Urban Peak

423 E. Cucharras St., 630-3223, urbanpeak.org

Helps homeless and at-risk young people (ages 15 to 20), providing essential services and moving them toward self-sufficiency.

Nonprofit-driven

In fiscally conservative Colorado Springs, nonprofit organizations play an enormous role in safeguarding, enhancing and inspiring the community. To generate funds, volunteers and applause for their work, the Colorado Springs Independent started Give!, a year-end multimedia and guerilla marketing campaign.

The inaugural 2009 effort raised about $198,000 for 29 local organizations; in 2010, the tally was $427,000 for 40 organizations; and in 2011, $700,000 for 49.

Its growing scope, and the community events that tend to roll out when the campaign gets going, make Give! a good thing to follow in and of itself. But the campaign also doubles as an excellent introduction to the local nonprofit community.

At indygive.com, you can click on "participating nonprofits" for profiles of each group involved in the campaign. They represent interests across the spectrum, from arts and culture to community-building to care for animals.

Among last year's top donation-getters were the Friends of Cheyenne Cañon (tfocc.org), an environmental group that's buttressed the city's beloved North Cheyenne Cañon Park in the face of huge city budget cuts; Peak Education (peakedu.org), which provides long-term mentoring to at-risk youth; and Mission Medical Clinic (missionmedicalclinic.org), which gives free care to low-income, uninsured adults with chronic illnesses.

The Center for Nonprofit Excellence (cnecoloradosprings.org) and the Better Business Bureau (southerncolorado.bbb.org) can serve as good clearinghouses for information related to the local nonprofit community. But whether you're looking for help, or a way to help, we also urge you to check out indygive.com.

— Kirk Woundy