Homeward Pikes Peak Street Outreach

There are over 5,500 individuals experiencing homelessness in Colorado Springs and about 800 shelter beds/transitional housing units available in the city according to the Pikes Peak Continuum of Care. This leaves a significant remainder of this community living in unsheltered conditions on the streets, camping in parks, living in cars, and “couch surfing.” Living unhoused tends to lead to interactions with local police, whether it be for actions typical of homeless neighbors such as loitering or for greater offenses such as disturbing the peace. These contacts with the criminal justice system end up being costly for taxpayers, as jails/prisons are often relied upon as a temporary homeless solution (“Five Charts That Explain the Homelessness-Jail Cycle—and How to Break It,” Urban.org, Sept. 16, 2020). In addition to five housing/recovery programs and an outpatient treatment clinic, HPP also operates a Street Outreach (SO) Program, the focus of this request, connecting individuals experiencing homelessness with immediate resources and referrals. In so functioning, SO helps reduce arrests, thus breaking down barriers of trust/understanding between people experiencing homelessness and the police.

The mission of HPP is to work with individuals and families in our community to achieve their full potential through supportive housing and recovery services to rebuild dignity and self-sufficiency and permanently exit homelessness.  HPP’s Street Outreach (SO) team has worked collaboratively with the Colorado Springs PD’s Homeless Outreach Team to connect homeless individuals with resources and appropriate referrals.

SO engages 475 individuals/families yearly, connecting those experiencing homelessness with immediate resources. This highlights that when housing providers, the police, and SO work together, HPP can better assist individuals facing homelessness.  In one collaborative effort in 2019, HPP’s SO was provided with a list of “high utilizers” from the CSPD, and together with HOT it worked to systematically connect with these individuals and assist them toward stable housing. In the timeframe of work with the HOT, HPP’s SO team moved about 25 people into Greenaway Flats apartments.

HPP is the largest housing provider of permanent supportive housing for  individuals exiting homelessness in the Colorado Springs community. With this experience backing them, SO’s efforts focus on overcoming the barriers to connecting and maintaining stable housing and sober living. SO has a track record of effectively utilizing local police assistance in moving these individuals towards permanent housing. HPP requests a grant funding from the MIT Accelerator Unbundle Policing-Reimagine Public Safety Challenge to further leverage these efforts and take operations to the next level.  Currently SO is limited to ride-along two days per week. This needs to expand with another SO team member, and the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office has recently requested SO assistance for areas in their jurisdiction.