DENVER, CO On Thursday morning, Depaul USA, a nonprofit that helps people experiencing homelessness, held a ribbon-cutting for a home in Denvers Capitol West neighborhood that will serve college students facing housing instabil ity.The opening of the home is part of an expansion of Depaul USAs Dax Program, which specifically focuses on college students' housing needs.Today, we're celebrating the opening of DAX Denver. It's the fifth DAX city in the United States. Back in 2015, we opened up our first DAX house in Chicago, addressing students who were going to DePaul University and City College of Chicago, and then we added Philadelphia, and then we added New York City, and then we added Los Angeles. And today is the fifth DAX city, Denver, but I assure you, not the last one, Kevin Noe, Depaul USA Board of Directors member said. Watch the Full Story Below Depaul USA opens Denver home for college students experiencing homelessnessNoe said the program will house 15 students and initially partner with Regis University and MSU Denver, whose staff will identify and refer students experiencing or at risk of homelessness to Depaul USA for assessment and intake.Eligible students must be 1825 years old and enrolled in classes at least half-time.They're here for two years, Noe said. Through their work, they get paid internships. They're making enough money. It's like, hey, I want to be on my own , and so they can graduate from DAX to their own housing if they want.Noe said the students have access to an on-site pantry, financial literacy workshops, educational programming, leadership development, employment assistance and referrals to physical and behavioral health resources.Noe said students will pay about $200 a month in rent and will also be provided with a case manager.Sometimes I had a bed to sleep on. Sometimes I didn't. So, it was like off and on homelessness. So, every night I was unsure. So, I would come to class in the morning, but I would also have to wonder like, am I safe to go to this house?. So, Dax Chicago definitely saved me, Nikaya Harrell, college student at DePaul University and Dax participant said. Your kind of scared to share that like, I'm in college but like I don't have a home.Harrell said Dax helped her transition into permanent housing and put her on a path to success.I became part of my student government. I was making the dean's list and Phi Theta Kappa, made the honor society. Before that, I was like, no, I have to go to class, and then I have to figure out my life afterwards. So, I had no time to get involved into school, Harrell said.Since its launch, Depaul USA reports 84% of Dax students have remained in school or graduated and transitioned to permanent housing. ...read more read less