On Wednesday morning, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston announced the city will spend $400,000 partnering with a Seattle-based tech nonprofit, Housing Connector.
The group uses Zillow's platform to connect people experiencing homelessness and homeless service providers to empty homes they can rent.
"This approach will help us deliver on our goal of ensuring every Denverite is housed by getting people directly into leased, permanent units and helping them stay housed for years to come," Johnston said in a statement.
The nonprofit started working in the Denver area in 2022 and has also set up shop throughout Washington State and in Dallas, Texas.
This is the first time the nonprofit has formally partnered with Denver's city government, and some service providers are eager for the collaboration.
"We know folks who can immediately benefit from this partnership," said Matt McAdams, site director for the Salvation Army Crossroads Center, in a statement. "Through collaborative efforts and shared resources, we will address the needs of the community to urgently resolve experiences of displacement. We're better together: by collectively providing ongoing support to our neighbors, we hope to be a part of ending housing displacement in Denver."
Here's how Housing Connector works
Service providers can use Housing Connector to help people who are experiencing homelessness find housing.
The company argues: "No unit should sit vacant while there are people in need of a home."
"We can't solve our housing crisis without our partners in the multifamily industry," said Housing Connector executive director Shkëlqim Kelemendi in a statement. "We know that when a unit sits vacant it's a financial loss for the property and it's a lost opportunity for our community. We need to invest in pragmatic solutions that make it easy for property owners and managers to open more doors to folks in the community."
Housing Connector works with property owners who have agreed to lower their screening criteria for potential renters in exchange for service providers offering case-management support for tenants for a year, according to the group's website.
"Property Partners receive free referrals to their units by advertising to our specific Zillow platform," according to the website. "In exchange, Housing Connector provides rent guarantees and damage mitigation funds for residents enrolled in the program. We also act as a direct point of contact for properties when behavioral or financial issues arise so that we can effectively triage and address stability issues in tandem with Community Partner case management support."
This is one of many tools the Johnston administration is using to address homelessness.
So far, the nonprofit has housed more than 5,600 housing insecure people nationally, and most have had "long-term housing success," according to a city statement.
That, of course, is a fraction of the number of people experiencing homelessness on any given night in Denver.
For perspective, the Denver area had more than 9,000 people experiencing homelessness on one night last January. Nearly 28,000 people accessed homeless services in 2022.
With record-breaking eviction cases hitting the courts, the number of people entering homelessness has far outpaced the more than 220 people Johnston has managed to bring into temporary indoor shelter since he took office in mid-July.
