As Colorado’s homeless epidemic grows increasingly dire in recent years, the governor and his allies in the legislature unveiled measures that collectively allocate $200 million to confront the crisis.

Gov. Jared Polis announced the three-bill package during a press conference Monday, saying the COVID-19 pandemic has elevated homelessness in Colorado from a concern to a crisis. From 2020 to 2021, first-time homelessness in Denver shelters increased by 99%, according to the Denver Metro Homeless Initiative.

“We need to address this issue and we need to address it now,” said Polis, who was flanked by legislators who support the measures. “Mental health, homelessness, substance abuse, housing costs, these were problems before the pandemic, but these last two years have pushed communities across the country into a crisis.”

Using federal dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act, the three bills would allocate $105 million to create a statewide grant program funding homeless services and another $95 million to build two homeless recovery campuses in the Denver metro area.

Colorado faces an acute housing shortage, sending home prices and rents skyrocketing and residents reeling, the effects of which are felt across kitchen tables to main street and board rooms alike. State policymakers have vowed to tackle this crisis. So, what are the proposed solutions? What can the state do, for example, to spur building of affordable homes? Watch the forum on demand now!

The bills are expected to be introduced by the end of the day on Monday.

The $105-million “Homeless Response Grant Program” would fund local efforts to address homelessness, including affordable housing, supportive housing, transitional housing, emergency shelters, recovery care, employment assistance and job training.

“I live in an affordable housing unit myself and it’s the only reason I’m able to stand before you as a state senator today,” said Sen. Julie Gonzales, D-Denver, who is sponsoring the legislation to create the grant program. “Access to affordable, safe and secure housing changed my life.”

This comes as housing costs in Colorado have reached record highs. In February, the median home price in Colorado hit $555,540 – a 7% increase from just the month before and $90,000 more than last year. Rental prices were up nearly 22% from last year, with the average monthly rent for a one-bedroom reaching $1,919. 

Also under the bills, the two homeless recovery campuses would provide services, including behavioral health care, mental health care, substance abuse treatment, medical care, dental care, transitional housing, emergency shelter, permanent supportive housing and employment services.

Of the funds, $45 million would go towards converting the former Ridge View Youth Services Center in Watkins into a homeless recovery campus. Another $50 million would go towards establishing a new campus in the Denver metro area, the product of collaborations between local governments and nonprofits in Denver, Arapahoe, Adams, Douglas, Jefferson and Broomfield counties.

“This is truly a transformational package of legislation,” said Rep. Iman Jodeh, D-Aurora, who is sponsoring the legislation to create a new metro regional campus. “Every Coloradan deserves a safe place to live, but that reality is out of reach for so many. We won’t fully address this crisis unless we resolve the root causes of homelessness.”

If passed by the legislature, Polis said the programs would kick off by the end of the year, with some of the $105 million in grants rolling out by the fall.

For many, this support can’t come fast enough. In 2021, 5,530 people were living in homeless shelters in the Denver metro area. The same year, Colorado’s chronically homeless population grew by 266% compared to 2007, the largest increase of any state in the nation, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Despite this, Cathy Alderman, spokesperson for Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, said she believes state investments will help turn things around.

“I’m very excited about the investments being made today,” Alderman said. “I think we’re going to be a better state for it and I’m very hopeful that every Coloradan will have a safe place to call home moving forward.”