Kathy Smith, director of Community Resources for Arapahoe County, told the Board of County Commissioners during a study session that staff proposes a Housing Stability Services program to combine short-term rental and mortgage assistance with personalized case management and housing navigation.

Smith said the plan would pair immediate financial aid with longer-term supports so households can move toward “long term self sufficiency.” The proposal includes a $1,200,000 budget request for rental and mortgage assistance and related staff costs, a $200,000 set-aside for vulnerable populations, and eligibility capped at 80 percent of area median income.

The nut graf: Staff presented the program as a bridge between one-time pandemic-era emergency funds and a longer-term county-operated service that would use financial assistance to prevent evictions and foreclosures while assigning a housing stability coordinator to each household to develop and monitor an individualized plan.

Smith described how applications would flow into a single program intake — online portal, phone, in-person, or outreach — and be screened with a standardized assessment. “The goal is to combine that immediate financial assistance that we know so many households need… and then make sure that we’re pairing that with that personalized case management,” Smith said. Coordinators, repurposed from existing housing navigators, would provide housing search help, lease negotiation, referrals to employment services and legal mediation, and regular follow-up.

Program details staff presented: short-term financial assistance of up to three months or a maximum of $10,000 per household; a working average estimated at about $5,000 per household; income limit set at 80 percent of AMI; documentation requirements include residency in Arapahoe County and a current lease or mortgage; and a secondary approval process for assistance beyond three months. Smith said staff would route applicants first to the state’s Colorado emergency rental assistance program while it was open, and cover any remaining unmet need.

Staff estimated the $1.2 million request would fund roughly 240 households in the upcoming year (about 200 from the general pool and about 40 from the $200,000 vulnerable-population set-aside, based on a $5,000 average payment). The vulnerable set-aside targets veterans, survivors of domestic violence, seniors, families with children and justice-impacted individuals, the presentation said.

Commissioners asked about populations with serious behavioral health or substance-use needs and how staff would respond. Smith and other staff said housing stability plans would include referrals to transitional living or treatment programs when appropriate and emphasized that coordinators receive mental-health awareness training. Lizzie Lumens, CDHHS staff, described current outreach work and said some cases would require longer-term placements like sober living or supportive housing.

Several commissioners and staff discussed partnerships with ArapahoeDouglas Works for employment supports, Colorado Legal Services for mediation, and local school systems for outreach to McKinney-Vento families. Smith said a pilot partnership with the City of Centennial to provide intensified case management for some McKinney-Vento families was under discussion and that staff would present more on that work the following week.

Staff also noted service limits and practical barriers: verification steps, limitations of child-care assistance programs, transportation gaps beyond RTD, and recent closures among homeless-service providers that have reduced referral options. Smith said staff will track program outcomes and could reallocate set-aside funds if uptake among named vulnerable groups differed from expectations.

Ending: No formal funding decision was made at the study session. Smith told the board staff’s recommendation is for the board to consider the program and its funding requests through the 2026 budget process; commissioners expressed support and asked staff to return with additional detail, including an AMI chart and the McKinney-Vento follow-up.