Council reviews homelessness evaluation, hears proposal for high-utilizer program and launches strategy update with Clutch Consulting

Boulder City Council spent its Feb. 13 study session reviewing a yearlong evaluation of the local homelessness response system and mapping next steps for a strategy update and implementation planning. Staff and outside consultants reported a mix of progress and continuing gaps: shelter demand and nightly turnaways are higher than prior years, exits from homelessness totaled 264 in 2024, and some state housing vouchers were frozen in 2024, constraining placement capacity.

Kurt Furnhaver, director of Housing and Human Services, and Megan Newton, policy advisor on homelessness, presented data and program updates. Newton told council that the city’s day services center—opened nine months earlier—has recorded thousands of visits, hosts 15 partner agencies and links about 85% of visitors to partner programs. She reported the shelter system had a high percentage of nights with turnaways in 2024 (peaking at roughly 83% of nights in November) and that 264 people exited homelessness in 2024; staff calculated an exit rate of about 39% for that year. Newton also said the City secured 30 state housing vouchers tied to the day services center and that ARPA-funded retention programs (Building Home, peer support and a housing retention team) showed a reported 88% retention rate for 2024 and 94% retention over two years, while ARPA funding for those services will expire in 2025–26.

Carl Castillo, chief…