Members of the Valley Alliance to End Homelessness are working on a final budget and plan for how to use a $2.7 million grant from the state.
The alliance is made up of organizations and leaders from Pitkin, Eagle and Garfield counties, including the Carbondale-based West Mountain Regional Health Alliance, which is the lead organization that received the grant.
“It’s a big deal, you know, if the counties had each individually applied they might have gotten some funding, but it wouldn't be the amount that we received as a region,” said Cristina Gair, the executive director of the West Mountain Regional Health Alliance. “This influx of funding will help transform some of the things that are happening and the good news is we've already started the process without having honestly enough funding to make it all happen.”
In the last six months, the alliance was able to help 60 individuals find housing or shelter, including families and children.
While the regional coalition will need more funding to reach many of its long-term prevention, shelter, and re-housing goals, Gair said the state grant is a huge step forward.
The state provided the grant for three main initiatives: emergency shelter; improving systems for regional collaboration; and street outreach, something Gair said is critical to building trust with the people they serve and finding solutions that work.
“Our folks who do street outreach are really awesome and some of them have lived experience,” she said. “What matters is having a person that can empathize and understand the situation without having any sort of judgment, really just saying, ‘Hey, I'm here. Tell me what we can do to start to help you.’”
As of April, the alliance was able to count about 136 individuals and families who were experiencing homelessness across all three counties.
While that estimate dropped by more than half since the height of the pandemic, Gair said the number of people who are unhoused or unsheltered can fluctuate a lot depending on a range of factors, including the time of year.
“For the size of our valley, we have quite a few people who are experiencing homelessness,” she said. “Affordable housing is a major issue and we're also in a place where in the winter, obviously you face the prospect of severe weather impacting those who are residing here without a home.”
Other organizations that were part of the grant include Recovery Resources in Pitkin County, Catholic Charities, Mind Springs Health, and Eagle County Homeless Services.
All of the recipients serve different parts of the region.
Together, they received the second largest “Transformational Homeless Response Grant” from the The Colorado Division of Housing after Denver Housing.
