Since its February 2016 founding, the Northern Colorado Continuum of Care Coordinated Assessment and Housing Placement System (CAHPS), staffed by United Way along with 40+ partner organizations, has assessed 577 veteran experiencing homelessness households and housed nearly 500. Soon, the shared, two-county CAHPS effort, along with its national partner Community Solutions, will declare an end to veteran homelessness in Weld and Larimer counties.
“We currently have 46 veterans known to be experiencing homelessness. Of these, 34 have been connected to a housing opportunity and are now working with someone to find and keep permanent housing,” said Summer Garcia, United Way’s CAHPS coordinator. “This means that only 12 veterans don’t have rental assistance or a voucher that they can use to get back into housing. With the end in sight, we have set a goal to end veteran homelessness by the end of 2021. By this we mean that our community will have reached the milestone of measurably ending veteran homelessness and that we are sustaining it through helping veterans keep their homes and creating new housing opportunities for those that need them.”
Summer said that ending veteran homelessness in Northern Colorado will show the community that this is a solvable problem and that we can end all homelessness. “We have a process that can make homelessness rare, short-lived, and non-reoccurring for anyone who does experience it,” she continued. “We want more belief and buy-in from elected officials, donors, business leaders, and us all that when we work collaboratively we can make significant and lasting change for those who are living out-of-doors or in a car,” Garcia said. Once veteran homelessness is history, the next goal is to end homelessness for every individual and family in Evans, Fort Collins, Greeley, Loveland and all areas of both counties. “I truly believe that we can and that we will end homelessness in all of Northern Colorado.”
