HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 6/28/2022 - Memorandum From Brittany Depew Re: June Homelessness Updates
Social Sustainability
222 Laporte Avenue
PO Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522
970.416.8055
MEMORANDUM
DATE: June 22, 2022
TO: Mayor Arndt and Councilmembers
THRU: Tyler Marr, Deputy City Manager
Jackie Kozak Thiel, Sustainability Officer
Meaghan Overton, Housing Manager
FROM: Brittany Depew, Homelessness Lead Specialist
CC: John Feyen, Assistant Chief of Police
Beth Yonce, Social Sustainability Department Director
RE: June Homelessness Updates
Purpose: The purpose of this memo is informational to provide Council with regular homelessness updates.
Bottom Line: Addressing homelessness in Fort Collins is a collaborative, muti-sector effort that involves
dedicated, cross-departmental staff and funding resources from the City, the Continuum of Care, nonprofit
organizations, and community members to make homelessness rare, brief, and nonrecurring. Ongoing efforts
address both short-term, immediate response and long-term, systemic approaches.
Camping & Enforcement: Short-Term and Ongoing
• Blue Spruce Area Clean-up Event on June 21
o Focused on Blue Spruce between Conifer and Willox, Bristlecone, & Red Cedar Circle
o Coordinated event with Natural Areas, Sustainability Services, Outreach Fort Collins, Fort Collins
Rescue Mission, Catholic Charities, and Homeward Alliance
o Notifications started June 18 and continued through June 20
o 6 citations issued and 13 vehicles tagged as abandoned
o 9 individual encampment sites addressed
• Natural Areas reported that the cleanup of Blue Spruce, Bristlecone, and Conifer led to the disposal of 10
cubic yards of waste, and the recycling/diversion of 4 shopping carts, 3 bicycles, additional metal, 4 tires,
and 10 bicycle tires. No sharps were found.
• A staff report is scheduled for Council’s Regular Meeting on July 5 to report on camping, enforcement,
and longer-term homeless system response.
Extreme Heat Events: Short-Term (Summer Months)
• A collaborative team from Environmental Services, Emergency Preparedness & Security, Soci al
Sustainability, and Colorado State University has been working to build a heat response plan focused on
supporting the safety and health of people experiencing homelessness during extreme heat events.
• The trigger for plan activation will occur when the heat index reaches 93 degrees Fahrenheit, which
requires an approximate temperature of 97 -98 degrees and humidity of approximately 40 percent. With
our climate, this combination of factors is estimated to occur 0-2 times per year.
• The response plan is being reviewed and finalized by internal and external partners.
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Community Engagement (Neighborhoods, Businesses and more): Ongoing
• An open house was hosted by Neighborhood Services in Library Park on June 15. There were
representatives from Police Services, Poudre Fire Authority, Social Sustainability, Parks, Poudre River
Library District, and Outreach Fort Collins. Neighbors were interested in talking about best ways to report
on disruptive behavior and OFC informational handouts were very popular. Low attendance was noted.
• So far in 2022, Outreach Fort Collins (OFC) has engaged with 476 people experiencing homelessness,
280 businesses, and 65 service providers.
• Staff from Social Sustainability attended both Downtown Development Authority meetings on Safety that
were co-facilitated by OFC and Fort Collins Police Services. These meetings, held on April 28 and May
26, were attended by downtown businesses wanting to learn more about the services offered by OFC and
when to contact OFC vs. Police.
Prevention & Supportive Services: Ongoing
• The Murphy Center’s indoor space is currently open Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m. for core
services including showers, laundry, mail, and computers, and from 11:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. for
appointments. The outdoor garden space is open to guests from 11:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. on weekdays and
8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. on weekends.
• 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 $100,000 in
American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding was allocated to this expansion via the 2022 budget process.
• Joe Domko, the former regional director of Catholic Charities, departed the role in May and Joe Sarr,
Director of Operations, is serving in an interim capacity.
• Sherwood House, operated 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: Ongoing
• The City allocates funds to support partner organizations that provide direct services to people
experiencing homelessness and increase the availability of housing options including rapid rehousing,
permanent supportive housing, and affordable housing.
• $760,000 of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding has been designated for community partners to
increase case management and resource navigation ($220,000), support ongoing 24/7 shelter efforts
($198,000), seasonal overflow shelter ($146,000), and bridge shelter ($166,000). These funds are
anticipated to be fully contracted and deployed beginning in July 2022.
• $201,000 of additional ARPA funding was approved through midcycle ARPA allocations. This funding will
provide City support to Rapid Rehousing programs for the first time. Rapid rehousing provides short-term
housing support for families and individuals needing only temporary support while working toward self-
sufficiency. This funding is to cover expenses from September 1-December 31, 2022, and will serve
approximately 10 families and 10 individuals during that four-month period.
• As mentioned, $100,000 in ARPA funding will support Outreach Fort Collins’ expansion to midtown.
Evaluation, Metrics and Reporting: Ongoing
• Quarterly, Homeward Alliance and Outreach Fort Collins share data with the City to demonstrate impact
of funding and services, current number of program utilizers, and to help analyze community trends.
These reports include numbers of people experiencing chronic homelessness, accessing services, and
being transitioned into housing, and how many businesses and residents OFC engages with each
quarter.
• All ARPA-funded programs will be required to report into the Homeless Management Information System
(HMIS) and share quarterly reports outlining the impact of these funds. As these funds have not yet been
deployed, additional reporting and impact assessment will be available in future memos.
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• Evaluating success of homelessness initiatives can be complex, and HMIS will be utilized to help track
housing retention rates over time. While this does not speak to all levels of potential success in the
homelessness response system, it aims to best understand how the ultimate goal of these programs, to
help people get and stay stably housed, is being met.
• Data (Q1 2022):
o The total number of people experiencing chronic homelessness (6 months or more) was 897 in
Q1.
o 23 people experiencing chronic homelessness exited into permanent housing
o Data from the HMIS is updated quarterly and available at https://tinyurl.com/34ba7jt8.
Future & Strategic Planning: Long-Term
• Bridge shelter options are part of an ongoing conversation about insufficient shelter capacity and the
wide-reaching impacts of this system gap. The intent of 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.
• Following through on recommendations from the Homelessness Advisory Committee (HAC) and July
2021 work session with Council, site analyses for two potential locations for a future 24/7 shelter facility
(1311 N. College and 614 E. Vine) were completed in early 2022.
• After receiving the final comparative site analysis, Fort Collins Rescue Mission formally decided to move
forward with 1311 N. College as their selected site. This site was selected due to many factors, including
timeline and funding opportunities.
Next Steps
• City Staff will be providing a Staff Report to Council at its regular meeting on July 5.
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