The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless (CCH), an NLIHC State Coalition Partner, ended the 2013 state legislative session with a new path to address chronic homelessness among persons with mental illness and substance abuse. In August, advocates won the support of state legislators and Governor John Hickenlooper (D) to repurpose Fort Lyon, a 550-acre facility, to offer housing and supportive services to the state’s most difficult-to-serve homeless individuals. The Fort Lyon Supportive Residential Community opened in September.For more than a decade, CCH has implemented the highly regarded Housing First model, a series of programs that place homeless individuals or families into stable housing throughout Colorado. The programs have helped hundreds of people move from the streets or homeless shelters; additional services have enabled others to maintain their homes while addressing mental health and substance abuse issues. Yet in its decades of advocacy and service delivery, CCH has seen many individuals with the severest forms of mental illness and chronic substance abuse struggle in their recovery and eventually fall back into the cycle of homelessness. The lack of long-term residential programs for this subgroup is a major reason for the cycle, according to advocates. Compared with other states, Colorado ranks low in the number of these programs; options are scarce for those on the streets who need this level of treatment. As a result, CCH believes this new transitional housing and treatment approach is critical for Colorado’s chronically homeless population, 40% of whom are military veterans. In addition to long-term residential treatment and counseling, CCH’s program will offer education, vocational, and employment services for 300 homeless and formerly homeless Coloradans. Fort Lyon once served as a veteran’s hospital prior to becoming a minimum security correctional facility for elderly and ill inmates in 2001. In 2012, Governor Hickenlooper closed it due to budget cuts, but vowed to repurpose its buildings to restore some or all of the 200 jobs lost in the rural community. Later that year, CCH gained the governor’s support to use the facility to help reduce chronic homelessness. Leaving homeless individuals with severe addictions on the street costs communities approximately $43,000 per individual annually, advocates report. The residential program is expected to save $17,000 annually per person. CCH joined a committee of statewide stakeholders to gain legislative support for the repurpose, including members from Bent County, where Fort Lyon is located. Representatives Tim Dore (R) and Leroy Garcia (D) championed legislation to fund the program and renovate buildings. The bill received wide support with 40 state representatives of the 65-member House co-sponsoring the legislation. A wide array of supporters testified at a March hearing of the House Local Government Committee, including the governor’s chief of staff and representatives from CCH, the Colorado Board of Veteran Affairs, Colorado Competitive Council, Southern Ute Indian Tribe, Colorado Municipal League, Colorado Counties Inc., Action 22, and Southeast Colorado Enterprise Development. The bill passed the House in April by a 49-13 margin, with bi-partisan support. The State Senate Appropriations Committee picked up the bill soon after House passage. Concerns with the program’s cost and sustainability were resolved after the House included the bill as an amendment to legislation dealing with the salaries of corrections officers. The Senate passed the bill in May. CCH believes the new treatment center is an important approach that takes advantage of an immediately available facility and works to close gaps in the state’s homeless system. Colorado is one of few states that lack a dedicated source of funding to help any segment of its homeless population, and it also underfunds mental health services. Advocates are pleased that it has targeted resources to respond to the homeless population’s needs; it will push for additional funds, including the expansion of permanent supportive housing to help end homelessness. “The most critical element to the success of this program will be the availability of affordable supportive housing for persons graduating the Fort Lyon program to allow them to return to their community of choice,” said John Parvensky, CCH’s president. “We are working with State and local agencies to ensure that the housing is developed and targeted to these individuals to ensure successful reintegration to the community.”For more information, contact BJ Iacino, CCH, at [email protected].