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Council hears CRT updates and progress on Homeless Navigation Campus vouchers and sheltering
Summary
Crisis response team (CRT) reported hospital-diversion successes; the Navigation Campus will consolidate day and night services later in 2025 and the city has 37 state-linked housing vouchers for the campus.
Lisa, a representative for the city’s crisis-response team (CRT), briefed the council on recent CRT activity and hospital diversion successes. Lisa said UCHealth remains a key partner, the third CRT team is operational and the team has had several case-level successes including sustained work with high-frequency 911 callers and responses tied to overdose tracking.
Lisa and other staff described coordination between CRT, public safety and homelessness outreach. Staff reported approximately 60 overdose deaths in the city year-to-date and said they would bring recommendations to council in May on how to use opioid funds to address the problem.
On homelessness, staff said the city closed an emergency, nightly shelter at the Navigation Campus site for construction and is operating nightly shelter at the day resource center until the Navigation Campus opens, with an anticipated transition in October–November. Staff said the winter sheltering period averaged about 100–140 people a night and that the street outreach team reports about 99% of people engaged accept some services even if they do not immediately enter shelter.
Staff described state-linked housing vouchers associated with the Navigation Campus: the state provided 37 vouchers connected to the campus purchase, to be used for people who meet campus criteria. Staff said Advance (the Navigation Campus service partner) is operating the day resource center and has administrative offices on the campus; Advance will continue as the primary operator when the campus opens.
Staff also described limitations in the referral and housing timeline: it can take several months to move someone from street outreach to permanent housing. As an example, staff described a recent case where someone was matched to a voucher and sheltered in a hotel while awaiting a lease start but died before moving into housing; staff said that outcome underscores the fragility of the process.
Council asked clarifying questions, including how overdose deaths are counted when patients are taken to Aurora hospitals after incidents that occurred elsewhere; staff said they would follow up with the coroner and partners to clarify counting procedures.
No formal actions were recorded; staff said they will return with opioid-funding recommendations and further Navigation Campus updates.
