HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 5/3/2022 - Memorandum From Brittany Depew Re: April Homelessness Updates
Social Sustainability
222 Laporte Avenue
PO Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522
970.416.8055
MEMORANDUM
DATE: April 27, 2022
TO: Mayor Arndt and Councilmembers
THRU: Kelly DiMartino, Interim City Manager
Kyle Stannert, Deputy City Manager
Jackie Kozak Thiel, Sustainability Officer
FROM: Brittany Depew, Homelessness Lead Specialist
CC: Beth Yonce, Social Sustainability Department Director
RE:April Homelessness Updates
Purpose: The purpose of this memo is informational to provide Council with regular homelessness updates.
Winter Shelter Overview
The Seasonal Overflow Shelter (SOS) season runs from November 1 – April 30. Below is a summary of
the six-month 2021-2022 winter season.
Fort Collins Rescue Mission – 316 Jefferson St. (main location)
o From November 2021-April 2022, served 546 unique individuals for a total of 17,216 overnight
stays.
o Daily average of 98 men.
o Currently has capacity for up to 102 men overnight, which will remain consistent after the winter
season ends.
o From November 2021-April 2022, a total of 3 men were turned away.
Fort Collins Rescue Mission – 212 W. Mountain (overflow shelter site – winter only)
o This City-owned building was approved as an additional emergency location by Council via
Emergency Ordinance on November 2. This added overnight capacity was critical for life-safety
during the winter months.
o Opened on November 29 with a maximum capacity of 40 men.
o Since opening, has served an average of 30 men per night.
o During open hours of 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 a.m., this site is staffed by Rescue Mission employees and
supported by security guards from Precision Security.
o This overflow site offered its final night of shelter on April 22.
Catholic Charities
o From November 2021-April 2022, served 6,663 duplicated women and 505 family units (total of
1,377 people within those family units).
o An average of 38 women and 3 families served per night.
o Current capacity of 35 women is consistently surpassed, although no one has been turned away
since implementing a 24/7 shelter model in August 2021.
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Engagement
Staff from Social Sustainability attended both Downtown Development Authority (DDA) meetings on
February 17 and the River District Business Association meeting on March 23, with the intent of sharing
updates about the overflow shelter at 212 W. Mountain, soliciting feedback, addressing concerns, and
answering general questions about the shelter site.
A letter was sent to neighbors and businesses within a block of 212 W. Mountain to confirm the shelter
would end operations by the end of April, as planned.
Due to ongoing concerns in the Library Park neighborhood, staff will coordinate a regular meeting with a
small contingent of neighbors to discuss concerns and solutions. The first meeting has not been
scheduled but will tentatively be held in May 2022.
Neighborhood Services is organizing a June neighborhood meeting in Library Park.
Emergency Weather Shelter Plan
This plan is activated when the National Weather Service declares a severe winter storm or severe wind
chill advisory and/or predicts overnight temperatures below zero degrees Fahrenheit.
For the 2021-2022 season, the emergency weather shelter plan was activated a total of 11 nights.
Shelters contracted with Precision Security, as needed, to allow people from their banned lists to seek
shelter on emergency weather nights.
If activations occurred when Transfort was not running (Sundays or holidays), Transfort worked to offer a
bus between sites, if possible, in the morning and evening on activation days. For the 2021-2022 season,
transportation was provided during all activations, either via regular Transfort service or with the addition
of a shuttle between sites.
Prevention & Supportive Services
The Murphy Center is currently open from 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. 7 days per week for outdoor shelter;
additionally, indoor appointments (showers, computers, laundry, service providers) are available Monday-
Friday.
Outreach Fort Collins is in the strategic planning phase of their midtown expansion, which is anticipated
to launch in Q3 of 2022. This midtown expansion was adopted as a Council priority, and $125,000 was
allocated to this expansion via the 2022 budget process.
Sherwood House, run by the Family Housing Network, is at capacity with 7 families in their transitional
housing program.
Crossroads Safehouse’s Rapid Rehousing program, Road to Home, currently has 18 clients housed and
1 client searching. This program offers financial support and supportive services to victims of domestic
violence, sexual assault, and stalking facing homelessness.
Funding
City staff received approval for an American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) application that will provide
$760,000 in 2022 to community partners to increase case management and resource navigation, support
ongoing 24/7 shelter efforts, and provide funds to support a bridge shelter option.
Bridge shelter options are part of an ongoing conversation, and the approximate $200,000 reserved for
that project will only be utilized once and if a viable option is identified and officially moves forward. The
intent behind securing a bridge shelter option is to serve as an interim location until there is a new 24/7
shelter facility. This bridge site would also serve as a Seasonal Overflow Shelter location, eliminating the
need for staff and community partners to seek secondary locations each winter season, as was done with
the addition of 212 W. Mountain for the 2021-2022 season.
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Long-Term Planning
Following through on recommendations from the Homelessness Advisory Committee (HAC) and July
2021 work session with Council, site analysis for two potential locations for a future 24/7 shelter facility
(1311 N. College and 614 E. Vine) is currently being finalized.
The final site analysis will be completed in early May, the HAC will be reconvened on May 4 to discuss
findings, and community partners will begin work towards site selection, engagement, and master
planning. The meeting will be held virtually via Zoom, and it will be recorded and posted online for those
unable to attend. More details on the HAC website: https://www.fcgov.com/homelessnesscommittee/
Staff is continuing to explore potential mid-term/bridge shelter options with partners, as mentioned above.
Emergency Response Data
Emergency response data is being tracked more closely in order to better analyze rate of response to hot
spots, types of response, and seasonal trends for colder months (November-April) and warmer months
(May-October). This data will tentatively be available beginning in Q3 2022 and will be included in future
update memos as available.