Fort Collins Officials Unveil Plan to End Homelessness

from Fort Collins Now

An effort in Colorado to end homelessness. Their goal is to end it in 10 years. - Kale

By Matt Brady

Philip Mangano, executive director of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, made a special appearance in Fort Collins at a press conference held at 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 21 to rally locals as the city announced its commitment to ending homelessness in ten years.

In the first step toward that goal, UniverCity Connections' Homelessness Initiative Task Group unveiled a comprehensive report, over six months in the making, that lays out in detail the numbers and makeup of Fort Collins' homeless population. The report also provides recommendations, specially tailored for Fort Collins, for how to end homelessness.

Recommendations include determining how many new units of permanent and supportive housing are needed to shelter the homeless population, and to develop coordinated plans with local medical and detox centers to close gaps in connecting the homeless to services.

The investigative report, funded by an anonymous donor through the Community Foundation of Northern Colorado, was spearheaded by Dr. Jamie Van Leeuwen, who was selected by Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper to head up Denver's Road Home. The Road Home is Denver's manifestation of its own 10-year-plan to end homelessness; since its implementation four years ago, Denver has seen a 36% reduction in chronic homelessness.

Dr. Van Leeuwen was brought in to head the report as an objective, outside observer. He said in an interview that it's now Fort Collins task to take the report and put it to action, whereas he will continue on separately with his work in Denver.

"It's not my opinion you need," he said. 'The community needs to say this is what we need and here's where we need it."

Fort Collins Mayor Doug Hutchinson spoke alongside Mangano and Van Leeuwen to announce Fort Collins resolve to join Denver in cities that are choosing to make strides to eradicate homelessness.

He threw his support behind the new initiative by becoming one of nearly 400 Mayor and county officials across the country to sign the America's Road Home Statement of Principles and Action, which was co-convened last October by Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and has been adopted by the U.S. Conference of Mayors and National Association of Counties.

"The hardest part of solving a problem is finding it," Mayor Hutchinson said to the crowd. He went on to express enthusiasm for the report, which he believes has successfully mapped out the homeless problem in Fort Collins, making it easier to know the tools and efforts needed to address it. "This sets a very solid foundation to build on. It's a tremendous step, a springboard and a foundation."

Mangano praised Fort Collins' initiative in forging the report, saying that the local community has done a great and rare thing by addressing the problem of homelessness before it becomes a local epidemic.

"I'm proud to be in your city today," he said to the crowd. "Many cities that are so beautiful and affluent as yours could be in denial about poverty. You should be so proud to be a citizen of your great community. Your intent is to make it a livable and beautiful community for every citizen."

Mangano went on to say that Fort Collins is now part of a national conspiracy to end homelessness. He said that the methods of "maintaining" homelessness over the last 25 years haven't been working, and that in the last seven years--since he began spearheading government efforts on homelessness--efforts have shifted not toward maintaining but abolishing homelessness.

The philosophy has met success, resulting in nationwide reductions in homelessness. Furthermore, it revolves around the numbers-driven philosophy that it costs the state more in shelter and medical costs to allow a homeless person to drift outside than to set them up in permanent housing and bring medical services to them.


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