Tri Cities group reviews homelessness services, launches RFP for permanent supportive housing study and reports PIT-count activity

Tri Cities homelessness coordinators met virtually to review family-focused navigation services, outline a request for proposals for a permanent supportive housing (PSH) feasibility assessment, report on the recent point-in-time (PIT) count and discuss emergency-shelter coordination during severe cold weather.

Shanna Jones, family resource navigator for Arapahoe County Human Services, described the county's Family Resource Navigator team and how to refer households. Jones said the team has five navigators and works only with households that include children under age 18 in the home. "Our motto is we will find a way," Jones said. She said program involvement typically lasts 30 to 90 days, navigators usually reach out within 48 hours of a referral, and referrals must come from human services staff or community partners. For urgent needs, Jones advised calling the navigators by phone; non-urgent referrals can be submitted via an electronic form that asks for date of birth, phone and email for the client and for the referring party.

Devin Granbury, city manager of Sheridan, presented an overview of an RFP the Tri Cities plans to issue for a PSH feasibility and implementation study. Granbury said the statement of work contains five core elements: data collection and an environmental scan; community engagement and education; provider engagement and assessments; a strategic implementation plan with projected costs and financing options; and an actionable timeline. He said the procurement team is finishing county contract language and the group expects the RFP to be posted on BidNet for at least 60 days once that work is complete. Granbury said the selection of a vendor is hoped for in April or May, though it could slip into May or June. He named several vendors who have already been contacted, including B Connected, Bose Simone Consulting and Civitas.

Cameron Schrapschatter, program administrator for Housing, Homelessness and Services for Arapahoe County, gave a debrief on the PIT count. Schrapschatter said the county had a strong volunteer turnout, with "over 50 volunteers" registered to participate and about 100 incentive bags distributed to people who engaged with canvassers. He said volunteers covered multiple Tri Cities locations, naming Graceville Cafe, Giving Heart and the Englewood City library among sites where outreach occurred. The county will submit cleaned PIT data to the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative (MDHI) for verification, Schrapschatter said; MDHI will submit to HUD at the end of April, with preliminary local numbers typically released in April or May and a full report in June or July.

Lizzie Loomis, division manager for community involvement, housing and homeless services at Arapahoe County, gave the coordinator update. Loomis reported multiple ongoing governance and program items: Bridal House is expected to open a central navigation center this spring; a safe-parking nonprofit closed its doors on Dec. 30 and county staff are exploring whether another nonprofit will fill that role; landlord outreach and incentive work is continuing, including pilot "welcome home" baskets from partner nonprofits; and the county is updating a homeless resource brochure to reflect changes to nonprofit offerings. Loomis also said the county is pursuing healthcare partner outreach to coordinate case management for patients discharged who need housing supports.

Meeting participants discussed emergency-shelter coordination during recent extreme cold weather. Sean Lewis, city manager of Englewood City, thanked shelter providers and described how overflow sheltering has worked: baseline shelter phone lines and voucher systems are managed by a shelter provider (referred to in the meeting as HatForce), which forwards calls to Movement 5280 when it reaches capacity; partner agencies also share status via Slack and email. Reid McGrath, change-the-trend facilitator, said partners sheltered about 44 people during one intense cold snap. Other partners reported that Movement 5280 had overflowed and that the Malley Recreation Center and other sites were used as temporary options. Kathy Smith, community resources director for Arapahoe County, said the county provides navigation and reimbursement-based funding and cautioned that roughly "about 80% of our funding comes from federal sources," adding that some state and federal funding streams (for example, weatherization administered through the state Department of Energy program) have already experienced disruptions.

Participants raised operational and capacity concerns for shelter providers and discussed short-term options, including routing people to the Aurora Navigation Center when local shelters reach capacity and potential transportation support for people moved to regional centers. Julie (last name not specified) and others emphasized that round-trip transportation would make transfers more acceptable to people who are connected to local services. Participants also noted that SAFER and other agencies provided shelter to several family households during the cold nights.

The group did not take a formal vote on any item. Staff directions discussed in the meeting include finishing county procurement language and posting the PSH RFP to BidNet; continuing landlord and nonprofit outreach and the county's resource-brochure update; and coordinating shelter-status communications across partners. MDHI data verification and HUD submission timelines were reiterated; staff said they will share PIT results with the group when available. The Tri Cities group scheduled its next meeting for March 13.