HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 03/25/2025 - Memorandum from Adam Molzer re Human Services and Homelessness Priority PlatformSocial Sustainability Department
222 Laporte Ave.
PO Box 580, Fort Collins, CO 80522
970-221-6757
amolzer@fcgov.com
CC: Beth Yonce, Social Sustainability Director
MEMORANDUM
Date: March 19, 2025
To: Mayor and City Councilmembers
Through: Kelly DiMartino, City Manager
Tyler Marr, Deputy City Manager
Jacob Castillo, Chief Sustainability Officer
From: Adam Molzer, Human Services Program Manager
Subject: Human Services and Homelessness Priority Platform
BOTTOM LINE
This memo includes the recently completed Human Services and Homelessness Priority
Platforms. This department-level guiding document is now being utilized as a blueprint for how
the Social Sustainability Department (SSD) strategically delivers resources and programming
towards local human services and homelessness issues.
PROJECT OVERVIEW
The Human Services and Homelessness Priority Platforms were developed to provide SSD with
adaptable, role-clarifying guidance for how the department delivers resources, programming and
partnership to human services and homelessness issues in the community. The Platforms profile
the human service and homelessness needs of greatest significance and will inform staff activities
and grant-making for the next five years, allowing SSD to have deeper influence on core issues
affecting low-income and vulnerable residents.
Coupled with the City’s Housing Strategic Plan, the Human Services and Homelessness Priority
Platforms now supplant SSD’s previous departmental strategic plan (2016).
The project was conducted in four phases:
Phase I – Collect Voices, Insights and Trends January-September 2024
1. 16 existing local reports and data sets were analyzed for themes, insights and equity
considerations.
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• 50+ interviews were completed with nonprofit, housing, and human service leaders,
businesses, local institutions and internal City departments.
• 9 focus groups and workshops were convened, with attendance from over 100 nonprofit,
housing and human service leaders and staff.
• 5 City Boards received a presentation and were asked to provide input. A similar
presentation was also shared at the September 2024 Super Issues Board meeting.
• 4 lived experience groups were engaged and provided insights (homeless, formerly
homeless, residents of income-restricted housing).
2. 365 responses were received to a community questionnaire (English & Spanish).
3. 7 local human service funders were interviewed and their materials were analyzed to
understand the focus areas they support.
• City Council questionnaire responses were reviewed and aligned to emerging themes.
Phase II – Priority Shift and Draft Platform September-October 2024
SSD staff evaluated where human service and homelessness trends from Phase 1 were arising.
Nine City Staff from various departments reviewed the data and engagement content and
completed 4 half-day work sessions to develop a framework for the Priority Platforms and define
the priorities. Consultation with the City’s Equity Office and City Attorney’s Office also occurred.
A multitude of other City strategic plans and guiding documents were reviewed and internal
priority alignment was noted. Once a draft of the Priority Platforms was prepared, a public
review session was held in late October to solicit technical feedback and reactions to the draft
Priority Platforms (37 participants), and online submissions were also collected from those
unable to attend in-person. A final draft was then created.
Phase III – Endorsement November 2024
The Human Services & Housing Funding (HSHF) Board is the Council-appointed body
responsible for advising SSD’s initiatives surrounding human services, poverty, affordable
housing, and related human-centered interests. The HSHF Board also reviews and creates
recommendations for a variety of funding requests from community programs related to these
issues. The HSHF Board was updated throughout the process and invited to contribute during
the engagement phase. On November 13, 2024 the HSHF Board endorsed the final drafts of
the Priority Platforms, providing additional validation and credibility to the project.
Phase IV – Implementation 2025
The Human Services and Homelessness Priority Platforms are posted on the SSD website in
digital form and are available in print. The final design is simple, easy to read, and illustrates the
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principle human service and homelessness interests of SSD and the department’s role as a
partner, funder and convener.
Implementation of the Priority Platforms will be gradual for SSD in 2025, as the department
evaluates and evolves its identity, goals and programming activities in the coming months. The
Priority Platforms will be used as a lens to assist with this restructuring process. The Priority
Platforms have already been instituted into the grant funding process currently underway for
human services and homelessness.
To ensure the Platforms remain relevant and responsive, community conditions will be scanned
annually to identify any systemic changes that may necessitate updates outside the typical five-
year review process.
NEXT STEPS
The Human Services and Homelessness Priority Platforms will be highlighted at the April 8, 2025
Council Work Session focusing on Council Priority #2: Improve Human and Social Health for
Vulnerable Populations.
Additionally, the SSD competitive funding process for human services and homelessness grants
has integrated the Priority Platforms as the focal funding interests. Grant proposals are currently
under review by the Human Services & Housing Funding Board, and recommendations will be
submitted to City Council for consideration in mid-June.
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January 2025
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CITY OF FORT COLLINS1
Introduction
The Social Sustainability Department (SSD) at
the City of Fort Collins was formed in 2012 with
the realignment of existing Affordable Housing
and Grant Program Administration functions
and staff. This new department was created to
deliver greater impact in the community and
to inform the City’s focus on braiding together
social, economic, environmental, and equity
interests. Funding, policy and partnerships
have historically been and continue to be the
core roles of SSD when working with other
organizations in the community and within
the City on social issues. SSD’s efforts have
primarily addressed the systems and structures
influencing affordable housing, human services,
homelessness, poverty, equity and diversity, and
pandemic response and recovery.
The Social Sustainability Department aligns its
work to advance the goals and priorities within the
following City of Fort Collins documents: Housing
Strategic Plan, Human Services Priority Platform,
Homelessness Priority Platform, and the Fort
Collins Consolidated Plan for the US Department
of Housing & Urban Development (HUD).
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HUMAN SERVICES & HOMELESSNESS PRIORITY PLATFORMS 2
About this Project
Human service and homelessness needs in
the Fort Collins community are complex and
interconnected. The Social Sustainability
Department (SSD) has historically addressed
these issues with a broad approach of supporting
many diverse organizations and causes, limiting
the potential impact of addressing systemic and
sustainable solutions. To ensure that City resources
are effectively directed to the community’s
most pressing human service and homelessness
priorities, the Human Services and Homelessness
Priority Platforms have been developed for use in
competitive funding programs and to influence
staff work plan activities.
The project began in early 2024 and involved
the following staff-led activities to collect voices,
insights and trends from the community:
• Analyzed 16 existing data sets, reports and
plans, allowing staff to utilize recent, relevant
and local materials to help identify potential
data trends and topics.
• Examined the local funding landscape of
leading human service funders and the focus
areas they support.
• Direct community input data was gathered
via a questionnaire, with over 350 responses
received.
• Convened a series of nine focus groups and
listening sessions, attended by over 100
nonprofit, housing and human service leaders
and staff.
• Conducted 50+ interviews with nonprofit,
housing and human service leaders,
businesses, institutions and internal City
departments.
• Presented to five City Boards and the autumn
2024 Super Issues Board meeting, soliciting
input from Council-appointed community
volunteers.
• Facilitated discussions with four Lived
Experience Groups of residents experiencing
homelessness (or formerly homeless) and
residents of income-restricted housing.
The insights from this engagement journey were
then deliberated by a team of City staff, including
consultation with the City’s Equity Office and
Attorney’s Office. Role alignment with the City’s
adopted strategic interests was also assessed.
The resulting framework and priorities were
then circulated for public review and technical
feedback, before receiving a final endorsement
from the City’s Human Services & Housing
Funding Board in November 2024.
To ensure these Priority Platforms remain
relevant and responsive, community conditions
will be scanned annually to identify any systemic
or technical changes that may necessitate
updates. This will include intentionally melding
the homelessness priorities with county-wide
strategic planning efforts underway in 2025.
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CITY OF FORT COLLINS3
Equity Focus
Of foremost importance within these Priority
Platforms is to preserve and embed the values of
the City’s Strategic Objective related to advancing
equitable outcomes for residents, including those
with disproportionately impacted identities (see
page 5). Both human services and homeless
services in Fort Collins offer opportunities to
address the root causes of generational inequities
in the community. Maintaining this awareness
while implementing the Priority Platforms can
initiate and increase support and stability for those
residents most impacted.
Expanding Roles for Social
Sustainability
The core roles of the Social Sustainability
Department are to provide funding, advance
policy, and cultivate partnerships around
the issues of housing, human services and
homelessness. To remain responsive to
community needs, expanding roles for SSD may
involve:
• Promoting human services programs
available to residents
• Convening nonprofit organizations for
networking, capacity building and training
• Supporting efforts to nurture collaboration,
improve client outcomes, and reduce service
duplication
Housing
Housing affordability remains a top priority
for the City of Fort Collins and the Social
Sustainability Department. The City’s Housing
Strategic Plan (2021) thoroughly recognizes
the community’s challenges to yield affordable,
stable and attainable housing options, and
presents a comprehensive collection of 26
prioritized strategies addressing the issue. These
strategies drive SSD’s work to overcome housing
inequities, cost and availability in Fort Collins.
In the Human Services and Homelessness Priority
Platforms, affordable housing is recognized
as a consistent and underpinning barrier to
the wellbeing and stability of residents with
limited-incomes and other disproportionately
impacted identities. The Housing Strategic Plan
compliments these Priority Platforms and the
systems work of SSD.
Funding Landscape
Funding in the Fort Collins community for human
services and homelessness is diverse, with gaps
remaining between the costs for such services
and funding availability to meet local needs. The
high volume and close engagement nature of
these services create significant personnel and
system administration costs.
In addition to City support, core funding largely is
delivered from county, state and federal sources.
Meaningful investments from individual donors,
businesses, and local or state foundations also
support budget needs. Program fees charged
to participants for various services, such as
caregiving, are also revenue options utilized by
some direct service providers.
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HUMAN SERVICES & HOMELESSNESS PRIORITY PLATFORMS 4
The community benefits from Larimer County’s
Behavioral Health Services Impact Fund Grant
Program, which distributes $2.8 million annually
to organizations filling gaps in behavioral health
care throughout our county. This represents a
portion of the sales tax that voters approved
in 2018 and that also funded the construction
of a dedicated behavioral health facility. Over
$800k from the 8th Judicial District’s allotment
of Victim Assistance Law Enforcement (V.A.L.E.)
funds are also awarded county-wide.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many
millions of dollars of federal American Rescue
Plan Act (ARPA) have been granted to human
and homeless service providers in Fort Collins.
The ARPA funding concluded at the end of
2024, leaving an unfilled funding shortage in the
community for life-sustaining services to high-
need and at-risk residents.
The nonprofit, public and private sector
organizations in Fort Collins can resolve
funding challenges and other system stressors
by continuing to secure outside funding,
promote philanthropy, expand collaborative and
complimentary programming, and build capacity
for local funding initiatives.
Gratitude
Thank you to the over 500 community
members, nonprofit organizations, City staff
members, and partners who contributed their
insights, experiences and expertise to this
project! The collective voices from everyone
involved have influenced the priorities and
equity considerations that will guide the Social
Sustainability Department’s work and funding
initiatives in the future.
Additional Information
For additional information about this document
and the Social Sustainability Department, please
visit us at fcgov.com/socialsustainability
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CITY OF FORT COLLINS5
Disproportionately Impacted Identities
Fort Collins residents with disproportionately impacted identities, especially those with overlapping
identities, may experience complex and compounding challenges affecting their daily lives. The
Human Services and Homelessness Priority Platforms underscore the importance of adapting and
promoting programming to reduce these barriers and create greater access to services for the following
populations.1
Limited-Income Socioeconomic Status
Households with income between 0-80% of Area Median Income (AMI)
Housing Status2
Unhoused or unstably housed
Geographic Location3
City-designated Opportunity Neighborhoods with the highest number of vulnerability indicators for
historic marginalization
Communities of Historically Excluded Racial and Ethnic Backgrounds
Native American, Latinx/Latine/Hispanic, Black and African American, Middle Eastern, Asian or Pacific
Islander
Immigration Status and National Origin4
Residents from low- and middle-income countries, with or without documented immigration status
Language
Persons with linguistic barriers from the direct translation and understanding of words and phrases
between languages and cultures
Age
Children | Youth and Young Adults | Seniors (62+)
Gender Identity/Expression and Sexual Orientation
LGBTQIA+ and Women
Disability
Condition that substantially impairs a person’s stamina, dexterity, mobility, physical capacity, executive
functioning, adaptive behavior, and/or social development
Survivor
Victims/Survivors of interpersonal violence
1 The order of Disproportionately Impacted Identities is for easy referencing; the order does not imply
priorities of any kind.
2 Housing Status is only applied within the Homelessness Priority Platform.
3 Geographic Location is only applied within the Human Services Priority Platform.
4 As classified by the World Bank.
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HUMAN SERVICES & HOMELESSNESS PRIORITY PLATFORMS 6
Human Services Priorities Platform
The Human Services Priorities Platform is an adaptable, role-clarifying blueprint for how the City’s
Social Sustainability Department delivers resources, programming and partnership toward human
services in the community. The Platform profiles the human service issues of greatest significance to
Social Sustainability and will form the basis for future work. Preserving the values of equity, diversity
and inclusion are foundational in the Platform, and the adversities experienced by residents with
disproportionately impacted identities are recognized throughout this work.
The key priorities identified will inform staff activities and grant-making for the next five years, beginning
in October 2025. To ensure the Platform remains relevant and responsive, community conditions will be
scanned annually to identify necessary updates.
Caregiving
Children Youth
Adults Seniors
Prevention
Education, training,
and direct client
services to reduce
risk factors
Intervention
Counseling
Case Management
Social Connections
Food Security
Access
Nutrition
Education
Financial Stability
and Opportunity
Direct Client
Assistance
Career Pathways
Transportation
Disproportionately Impacted Identities
Limited-Income Socioeconomic Status National Origin Language
Communities of Historically Excluded Racial/Ethnic Backgrounds
Disability Geographic Location Survivor Age
Immigration Status Gender Identity & Sexual Orientation
Preferred Future
State
Preferred Future
State
Preferred Future
State
Preferred Future
State
Preferred Future
State
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CITY OF FORT COLLINS7
Caregiving
Scope
Programs that provide caregiving services to children, youth, adults and seniors.
Preferred Future State
Community members will have access to quality caregiving services that are affordable to them and meet
their needs.
Alignment
• City of Fort Collins Strategic Objectives ECON.1 and NVC.2
(2024)
• City Council Priority #2 (2024-26)
• City Plan Principles LIV.8.2, LIV.8.3 (2019)
• Economic Health Strategic Plan Outcome 3.1 (2023)
• Fort Collins Resilient Recovery Plan Outcome 3C (2022)
Prevention
Scope
Programs that provide education, training, or direct client services to reduce risk factors that may lead to
further/future involvement in human services.
Preferred Future State
Evidence-informed prevention service models that can clearly demonstrate program efficacy will be
available to community members in need.
Alignment
• City of Fort Collins Strategic Objectives NVC.2 & SAFE.1
(2024)
• City Council Priority #2 (2024-26)
• City Plan Principles LIV.8.2, LIV.8.3 (2019)
• Fort Collins Resilient Recovery Plan Outcome 1C (2022)
Intervention
Scope
Programs and local initiatives that increase accessibility to:
• Counseling: programs that create access to mental and behavioral health counseling services.
• Case Management: programs that assess, plan, implement, coordinate, monitor, and evaluate care or
assistance for a client.
• Social Connections: programs that build social networks, combat isolation, and promote inclusion.
Preferred Future State
Community members will have access to quality intervention services that are affordable to them and
meet their needs.
Alignment
• City of Fort Collins Strategic Objective NVC.2
• City Council Priority #2 (2024-26)
• City Plan Principles LIV.8.2, LIV.8.3 (2019)
• Fort Collins Resilient Recovery Plan Outcome 1C (2022)
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HUMAN SERVICES & HOMELESSNESS PRIORITY PLATFORMS 8
Food Security
Scope
Programs and local initiatives that increase accessibility to nutritious food, address food insecurity, and/or
provide community education on food-related issues.
Preferred Future State
Community members will have access to food that meets their nutritional needs and is culturally relevant
The wider community is knowledgeable about the importance of food-related issues.
Alignment
• City of Fort Collins Strategic Objective NVC.2 (2024)
• City Council Priority #2 (2024-26)
• Our Climate Future Big Move 8 – Local Affordable Healthy
Food LAHF3 (2021)
• City Plan Principles SC.4.4, SC.4.5, LIV.8.2, LIV.8.3 (2019)
• Fort Collins Resilient Recovery Plan Outcome 1B (2022)
Financial Stability and Opportunity
Scope
Programs that ensure residents have equitable access to tools and resources to develop their short-term
and long-term stability, including:
• Direct client assistance
• Career pathways that narrow skill gaps and remove barriers to employment
• Transportation to get to essential services, products and places
Preferred Future State
Community members will have equitable access to resources for stability and self-sufficiency.
Patterns that perpetuate generational poverty are disrupted.
Alignment
• City of Fort Collins Strategic Objectives NVC.2 & ECON.1
(2024)
• City Council Priorities #2 & #4 (2024-26)
• City Plan Principles LIV.8.2, LIV.8.3, EH.6.2, T.9.1 (2019)
• Fort Collins Transportation Master Plan Principles T5 & T9
(2019)
• Economic Health Strategic Plan Outcome 3.1 (2023)
• Fort Collins Resilient Recovery Plan Outcome 1B & 3B
(2022)
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CITY OF FORT COLLINS9
Homelessness Priorities Platform
The City’s goal for homelessness is to put systems in place so that when a person does experience
homelessness, it is rare, brief, and non-recurring, and the number of people entering homelessness does not
exceed the system’s housing capacity. This is called “functionally ending homelessness” or “functional zero.”
The Homelessness Priorities Platform will inform how Social Sustainability supports local systems with
resources, programming and partnership towards achieving a functional zero community. The Platform
will identify leverage points along the spectrum of intervention and prioritize programs of highest impact.
The City also aligns its homelessness work with regional plans and response strategies.
Sheltering
24/7 SOS
Non-Congregate
Emergency
Supportive Services
Services to empower and
build agency with persons
experiencing homelessness
Prevention
Services that
reduce the likelihood that
someone will experience
homelessness
Disproportionately Impacted Identities
Limited-Income Socioeconomic Status National Origin Language
Communities of Historically Excluded Racial/Ethnic Backgrounds
Disability Housing Status Survivor Age
Immigration Status Gender Identity & Sexual Orientation
Preferred Future State Preferred Future State Preferred Future State
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HUMAN SERVICES & HOMELESSNESS PRIORITY PLATFORMS 10
Sheltering
Scope
Programs that provide 24/7 shelter, seasonal overflow shelter, non-congregate shelter, and emergency
shelter.
Preferred Future State
Capacity is available to meet the shelter needs of all who are unhoused; no one is turned away due to
space constraints.
Alignment
• City of Fort Collins Strategic Objective NVC.2 (2024)
• City Council Priority #2 (2024-26)
• City Plan Principles LIV.6.2, LIV.8.2, LIV.8.3, LIV.8.6 (2019)
• Housing Strategic Plan Strategies 2 & 4 (2021)
• Our Climate Future Big Move 7 – Healthy Affordable
Housing HAH4 (2021)
• Fort Collins Resilient Recovery Plan Outcome 1B, 2B & 2C
(2022)
Supportive Services
Scope
Variety of services to empower persons experiencing homelessness and assist them in building agency,
including wraparound models, mental and behavioral health, resource navigation, rapid rehousing, rental
subsidies/affordable rent, case management, and permanent supportive services.
Preferred Future State
Supportive services are recognized as critical to move people experiencing homelessness into permanent
housing and keep them there.
Permanent supportive services are available to people who need them.
Alignment
• City of Fort Collins Strategic Objective NVC.2 (2024)
• City Council Priority #2 (2024-26)
• City Plan Principles LIV.6.6, LIV.8.2, LIV.8.3, LIV.8.6 (2019)
• Housing Strategic Plan Strategy 4 (2021)
• Our Climate Future Big Move 7 – Healthy Affordable
Housing HAH4 (2021)
• Fort Collins Resilient Recovery Plan Outcome 1B, 2B & 2C
(2022)
Prevention
Scope
Services that reduce the likelihood that someone will experience homelessness and interventions to
stabilize when someone is at-risk of becoming unhoused.
Preferred Future State
Prevention services, like rent assistance, employment search assistance, rapid rehousing and diversion
prevent people at-risk of homelessness from becoming unhoused.
Alignment
• City of Fort Collins Strategic Objective NVC.2 (2024)
• City Council Priority #2 (2024-26)
• City Plan Principles LIV.6.6, LIV.8.2, LIV.8.3, LIV.8.6 (2019)
• Housing Strategic Plan Strategy 1 (2021)
• Our Climate Future Big Move 7 – Healthy Affordable
Housing HAH1 (2021)
• Fort Collins Resilient Recovery Plan Outcome 1B, 2B & 2C
(2022)
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HUMAN SERVICES & HOMELESSNESS Priority Platforms
24-27158
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