GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX)— “She was nonjudgmental. She accepted every person as they were rather than trying to remake them. She had open ears and an open heart,” said Karen Bland with Grand Valley Catholic Outreach.
On June 8, the Grand Valley Catholic Outreach program lost an important and iconic figure in Beverly Lampley, who served for more than 20 years giving back to the local community.
“She didn’t solve things for people; she helped them solve things for themselves. In that respect, she didn’t take away their own agency,” Bland said.
Beverly was drawn to the outreach program because of her background in social work, Bland explained.
“So I asked her, ‘We’re going to start a housing program, would you be interested?’ She said, ‘Sure,’ so I kept her in mind. We began with transitional housing and then moved on by 2008 to St. Benedict Church for more permanent housing. She helped in all those programs. We had about four different programs for housing that she helped me develop,” Bland said.
Lampley played a key role in developing 16 apartments for unhoused veterans and creating an additional 23 apartments for the general unhoused population. Beverly would go out of her way to make sure people received funds or resources they may not have had otherwise.
“She was very open to doing that for people, which meant she had to go to the bank to get the money for them. The thing about her is that she did it for a couple of people and charged them nothing,” Bland said.
Karen mentioned how some organizations would charge $50 to $100 for the same service. Volunteer coordinator Ellen Reimer noted how Beverly influenced countless souls through her positive energy and encouraging nature.
“It was a big influence for people because she did always try to help move people forward in a positive direction. So, I would say that it helped a lot of people move forward—definitely those who were clients, also volunteers and staff people,” Reimer said.
“In the Benedictine tradition, we say, ‘listen with the ear of your heart,’ and that indeed she did. We will miss her small stature but powerful presence with us here, but we will all carry on,” Reimer added.
A memorial donation can still be made to Catholic Outreach — either in person, at 245 South 1st Street or via their website CatholicOutreach.org.