Andrea and Rodney Thurber and their two young children became homeless about the same time the first big snowstorm hit Denver in late December.

Unlike the rest of the city, the Thurbers are still digging out.

The couple came to Colorado three years ago and settled in an $800-a-month apartment in Thornton.

They came here because they love the outdoors and job prospects looked better than in Kansas City, Mo., where they met and married five years ago.

But first their 1988 Oldsmobile died on them when the brakes failed after they already had sunk $1,200 into the vehicle for repairs.

Then Andrea, 27, lost her telemarketing job. Rodney kept doing temp work, but his credit is bad and their finances went from marginal to bad to worse.

By the time the Christmas Eve snow began to fall, they were on their way to joining the 16,000 homeless people cited in a summertime survey released Monday.

After living at the Samaritan Shelter and a motel, the couple caught their first break when a case manager told them about The Crossing, a transitional housing facility run by the Denver Rescue Mission.

How they got to The Crossing is a story in itself, one best told in their own words.

In their own words

"For us, transportation was the biggest part of the downfall," Rodney said. "There was nothing in that neighborhood (in Thornton) that could keep us above water. My wife would walk about one mile to work and a mile back."

They were down to their last day living on vouchers at the Dunes Motel when a social service caseworker stopped by their house and told them about The Crossing, which occupies a remodeled former motel at 6090 Smith Road.

They made arrangements for someone to pick them up the next day and take them there. But Rodney, 41, found work the next day doing a temp job at a pet food plant and somehow Andrea missed a connection to her ride.

So she packed all their belongings, piling them on a stroller while their son Andrew, 5, tugged a suitcase on wheels.

"At first the bus driver wouldn't let me get on the bus. I said, 'Please, make the people move to the back.' "

Later they lugged everything from the 16th Street Mall to another bus stop on 24th Street.

"I said to Andrew, 'Do you want to stop?' and he said, 'No, ma, let's just keep going' . . . I think they were shocked when we got here."

"I'm just a fortunate man to have a strong wife, strong enough to be able to go through this stuff together," Rodney said.

"You have to do it," Andrea added. "When you have two kids and you've got nowhere to go, you have to do it."

Five questions on the parking meter program

Mayor John Hickenlooper unveiled 36 refurbished parking meters Monday that will be set up around downtown to allow people to donate change to Denver's Road Home, the city's 10-year plan to end homelessness.

Why parking meters?

Hickenlooper said Denver wanted to find a way to let people use their change in a constructive way to help the homeless. "It's a way for everybody to get involved in ending chronic homelessness," he said.

What is Denver's Road Home?

The city's plan to provide housing and services to the homeless population. Denver aims to place people in housing and get them into treatment for substance abuse, mental illness and other problems that led them to become homeless.

How much change is given to panhandlers?

A recent study estimated $4 million per year is given to panhandlers in Denver, much of it used to support alcohol or drug habits.

How much money will be raised?

Each meter can hold up to $60 of change. Downtown businesses have sponsored all 36 meters, donating $1,000 for each one.

Who was first to sponsor a meter?

IMA Financial Group in LoDo. The company has a meter in front of its offices at 17th and Wazee. A group of IMA employees suggested the company sponsor the meter. "It speaks to the power of the issue," IMA CEO Rob Cohen said.

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