The Safety, Housing, Education and Homelessness Committee unanimously approved three contracts Wednesday totaling more than $7 million to fund housing programs for Denver residents experiencing homelessness.

The committee has approved 15 notice of funding availability contracts since August. These contracts fund 2021 housing opportunity, housing stability and homelessness resolution programs using federal and local funds.

Another 14 contracts are scheduled to be submitted to the committee in the coming weeks. An additional 35 contracts were awarded without council approval since they were less than $500,000.

The three new contracts will now go to the full Denver City Council where they will need to be approved before implementation.

The first contract is to provide $1,194,663 to the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless for its bridge housing and supportive services project.

The project targets highly vulnerable individuals and families experiencing homelessness, expected to serve 300 households in 2021.

FEMA to reimburse Denver up to $60.4 million for emergency shelter services during COVID

In addition to temporary housing, the project offers supportive services for obtaining permanent housing such as case management, housing placement and assistance with housing documentation and applications.

“Typically when someone goes into bridge housing, they already have their next step housing identified but, as you know, there sometimes can be a months-long gap,” said Angie Nelson with the Denver Department of Housing Stability.

“This program serves to provide additional support so that those folks can successfully transition.”

Nelson said the program also assures that residents will have access to support services after they transition to permanent housing, including connecting them to new case managers and mental health services.

This bridge housing project first began in Denver in 2019. This contract would continue to fund the project until the end of 2021.

The second contract would grant $2,919,000 to the St. Francis Center to fund its rapid resolution and shelter program through the end of 2023.

The contract would consolidate and expand existing shelter services and rapid resolution services provided by the Department of Housing Stability through the St. Francis Center.

Denver City Council approves over $15 million in homeless assistance, housing

The new program would provide day shelter and resolution services for those experiencing homelessness, serving up to 10,000 people each year and aiming to resolve homelessness for 225 households each year.

St. Francis Center’s existing program already supports 225 households annually, with 70% of the households exiting homelessness within a month. Of the households that have exited homelessness in past years, the majority remain in stable housing today. 

“The program seeks to identify folks at the front door of the homeless experience, identifying them as they are first experiencing homelessness and working to provide brief, solution-focused support,” Nelson said.

Provided services are flexible and designed for an individual’s specific needs. Services can include landlord mediation, reunification with family and friends, paying for first months rent and deposit or removing legal barriers.

“It’s an approach that recognizes that a person in crisis very often has a lot of strengths and networks and ideas for how to solve their situation,” Nelson said. “They just need that support.”

The third contract would fund the Volunteers of America’s family motel shelter program through the end of 2023 for $3,285,000.

Denver to respond to homeless camp calls with intervention team instead of police

Volunteers of America has operated city-funded family motels at 4855 W. Colfax Ave. and 4905 W. Colfax Ave. since the 1990s, providing 30 motel rooms to temporarily house families and children experiencing homelessness.

The motels also provide 10 double-occupancy rooms to house up to 20 people experiencing homelessness who are in need of medical respite, like those who have just been released from the hospital.

People staying in the motel receive shelter, medical care and case management services to connect them to permanent housing.

In addition to extending the motel program through 2023, the contract would add funding to begin including on-site meal services and additional case management support through Denver Human Services.

“We found that the families in this program could really be better supported towards housing outcomes with some additional case management,” Nelson said.

The Safety, Housing, Education and Homelessness Committee also approved an amended contract with Urban Peak Denver Wednesday, adding $250,000 to fund services for people age 15 to 24 experiencing unsheltered homelessness.