Denver aims to ramp up permanent housing for unsheltered
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People moving belongings before a city-sanctioned homeless encampment sweep in August 2023. Photo: Esteban L. Hernandez/Axios
Mayor Mike Johnston's administration wants to increase the number of people moved to stable living accommodations under its All In Mile High program with a recently approved contract.
Why it matters: The mayor's administration is prioritizing permanent housing to end unsheltered homelessness.
The big picture: Just over a third of people sheltered by the program — 583 of 1,673 — were in permanent housing as of July 15, the last time the city's dashboard was updated. That includes leased units and family reunifications.
What they're saying: "We think that's a good start; that is not where we want to stop — we want that to continue to grow," Cole Chandler, the mayor's senior adviser for homelessness, tells us.
State of play: Chandler says it took time for the program, which launched last year, to ramp up its permanent options. A $5 million contract approved in June is helping elevate those efforts, with a program the city calls Street to Lease.
- The agreement with the nonprofit Housing Connector intends to move 250 households into leased units, according to Denverite.
- The program has so far brought more than 60 people indoors this summer, Chandler tells us.
The intrigue: The most recent city homeless encampment sweep took place in West Denver on July 30 and brought 93 people indoors, Housing Stability Department spokesperson Derek Woodbury tells us.
- About half were moved into permanent housing as part of the Street to Lease program, Woodbury says, while the rest moved into other indoor shelters.
Between the lines: A larger number of folks housed by the program, 41%, are living in sheltered spaces like hotels and micro-communities, which are meant to be a pathway to more permanent spaces.
- 11% of people initially housed are no longer indoors, while 6% have unknown whereabouts.
Context: Cathy Alderman, a spokesperson for the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, says "bridge" housing like micro-communities can be valuable as long as it's temporary.
- "This model really has proven, over time, to be a stabilizing factor and sets someone up for better success than just putting someone into housing and just wishing them good luck," Alderman tells us.
- The nonprofit oversees a program connecting people to the city's hotels and micro-communities, and provides health care like primary and behavioral health services for people living in those locations.
What's next: Chandler says he feels "really good" about reaching the mayor's goal to bring 2,000 total people indoors by year's end.
- An encampment sweep is scheduled for September at an unspecified location.