A new program tasked with bringing 250 households directly from the streets into permanent housing will move forward, after City Council approved $5 million in federal pandemic recovery money Monday.
The contract with the nonprofit Housing Connector will provide housing navigation services, help with leasing, connections with vacant units and relationships with landlords to navigate the housing process. Participants in the program will receive rental and utility assistance, and the nonprofit will provide insurance on the housing if needed.
A pilot program run with Housing Connector in April moved 12 people from an encampment into housing. The program is part of Mayor Mike Johnston’s All In Mile High initiative, which aims to bring people living on the streets to short-term shelter and long-term housing.
“Instead of moving folks indoors to a temporary option, we’re skipping over that temporary option and taking people straight into a leased housing position. And what’s amazing is that we’re doing that within 30 days,” said Cole Chandler, Johnston's senior advisor for homelessness resolution, in committee last month.
Moving people directly from the streets into housing, rather than into non-congregate shelter like hotels and safe campsites, has been a longstanding ask from homeless activists. In the first few months of Johnston's administration, his office prioritized moving as many people sleeping on the street indoors as soon as possible.
City Council approved the contract eight to two. But longstanding City Council concerns around the Mayor’s priorities and the sustainability of funding came up during the final approval.
Councilmember Amanda Sawyer said she would have liked to see the administration focus more on moving people directly into permanent housing instead of spending millions on short-term, non-congregate shelter last year. The Mayor’s administration moved more than 1,000 people into non-congregate units in the second half of 2023.
Like other programs that have received one-time pandemic recovery money, Sawyer expressed concerns about the long-term sustainability of a program that has shown promise in securing long-term housing outcomes.
“What I wish is that the mayor’s office had slowed down and done this right in the first place,” said Sawyer, who voted no on the contract along with Councilmember Stacie Gilmore.
Gilmore has criticized the Mayor’s Office on its approach to homelessness in the past.
City Council President Jamie Torres voted yes, but said she hopes the Mayor’s office will find more permanent funding if the program proves successful on a larger scale.
“I can’t imagine the number of lives that it will affect in the next two years,” she said. “The administration, if this is as successful as it appears to be, find the money to keep it going.”
