Denver is undertaking the second phase of its ongoing effort to provide households for people experiencing homelessness in the city, officials said on Thursday.
The mayor’s office and the Department of Housing Stability (HOST) are coordinating an effort to establish 400 households by May 11.
Denver previously set a goal of housing 200 households in 100 days back in October 2021. The city ended the initial campaign by housing 576 individuals, or 340 households.
The effort is funded by American Rescue Plan Act dollars provided to the Denver Housing Authority by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
“Together with our partners, we’re housing people every day, including individuals from shelters and those living on the streets,” Mayor Michael Hancock said in a statement. “Through this boosted push, we’re further aligning the good work of many providers and deploying additional resources to achieve an even greater impact.”
According to a recent report by the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative (MDHI), more than 12,000 people were experiencing homelessness in the Denver area during the lat point in time count, a significant increase since 2016.
MDHI will also be working with the city to achieve its housing goals. Other partner organizations include the Denver Housing Authority, Homebase, and Community Solutions, two housing advocacy organizations.
The city will also leverage funds from its Homelessness Resolution Fund to expand a contract with the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless to provide additional housing during the surge.
“Our community is fortunate to have such an incredible number and caliber of service providers that are committed to resolving episodes of homelessness day in and day out,” HOST Executive Director Britta Fisher said. “We learned from last fall’s surge effort, and we’re grateful for the federal resources to help us quickly transform as many individual lives as possible.”
This article was originally posted on Denver plan seeks to establish 400 households for the homeless