Regional Coordination

We believe homelessness is solvable. Through regional coordination, MDHI brings communities together to strengthen the shared data, infrastructure, and collaboration needed to make homelessness rare and brief across Metro Denver.

The Aim

By December 31, 2027, MDHI and its partners will:

  • Know everyone experiencing homelessness by-name (informed by HMIS data)

  • Ensure homelessness is rare and brief for Veterans across the region

  • Reduce youth homelessness across region, with 2 subregions ensuring homelessness is rare and brief for youth

  • Reduce family homelessness across region, with 2 subregions ensuring homelessness is rare and brief for families

  • Reduce single adult homelessness in 2 subregions

  • Reduce chronic homelessness in 2 subregions

2 Year Priority Lanes:

  1. Set Foundations for an Effective, Resilient Homeless Response System

  2. Establish & Maintain Effective Ways of Working

  3. Influence Enabling Conditions in Broader Ecosystem

  4. Homelessness Reduction Strategies

  5. MDHI Backbone Operations

By Name List Dashboard

Veteran By Name List Dashboard

Updates
PRESS RELEASE: Douglas County Achieves Functional Zero for Veterans, Ensuring it is Rare and Brief

Douglas County has proven that homelessness is solvable through quality data, coordinated outreach, and regional collaboration. Together, Douglas County and the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative (MDHI) celebrate the County’s achievement of Functional Zero for Veteran homelessness, since joining the Built for Zero (BFZ) movement in April 2021.

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Douglas County & Tri-Cities Achieve Quality Data for Veterans

Douglas County and the Tri-Cities of Sheridan, Littleton, and Englewood have reached Quality Data for Veterans! In total, the Denver Metro has 5 out of 9 sub-regions at Quality Data for Veterans, reaching our goal for 2023! This includes Adams County, the City of Aurora, Boulder County, Douglas County, and the Tri-Cities.

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Denver Region Reduces Veteran Homelessness by 16% in 2023

As of December 31, we have achieved a 16% reduction in veteran homelessness across the seven-county region! This brings us from 468 to 391 veterans actively experiencing homelessness, with a total of 415 veterans housed in 2023.

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Denver Joins Biden’s All INside Initiative to Address Homelessness

On October 18, Denver joined President Joe Biden's All INside initiative, a historic opportunity to address the crisis of unsheltered homelessness in Denver with support from key federal partners. With this partnership, an embedded, dedicated federal official will help identify and execute systems-level changes as well as expedite and strengthen our current local strategies.

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Regional Shift in Veteran Homelessness, Down 21% YTD

“Our community has made a SHIFT in veteran homelessness, which means we have consistently seen a decrease in our overall number of literally homeless veterans in our Continuum of Care for the past 6 months,” shared Lauren Lapinski from the VA. “Thank you to all our community homeless providers for their incredible efforts to end veteran homelessness in our area, homelessness is solvable.”

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Adams County & Aurora Achieve Quality Data for Veterans

Adams County and the City of Aurora have achieved Quality Data for veterans, a necessary milestone for reaching a functional end to Veteran homelessness (and eventually all homelessness). Quality Data means we can account for every veteran experiencing homelessness by name, in real time.

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Director of USICH to Visit Metro-Denver

MDHI is pleased to share the Executive Director of the US Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) will visit Metro-Denver November 21-22.

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Metro Denver Learning Session Brings Together Region’s 9 Homelessness Coordination Teams

Learn more about our CoC Aims, how we’re advancing racial equity, historic funding opportunities, and the model that makes ending homelessness possible.

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Boulder County First in Metro Region to Achieve Quality Data for All Singles

Boulder County is the first of Metro Denver’s nine sub-regions to achieve Quality Data. Learn more about this important milestone and what it means for ending homelessness in this community.

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Boulder Completes Quality Scorecard, on Track for Quality Data

Boulder County is the first of the nine sub-regions to complete a Quality Scorecard for all single adults experiencing homelessness.

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Key Takeaways from the 2nd Regional Convening on Homelessness

On April 5, 2022, leaders from across the state gathered to support the ‘Built for Zero’ framework for ending homelessness.

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Progress on Regional Coordination

In March of 2021, MDHI in collaboration with Community Solutions, the VA, Department of Local Affairs, DRCOG, and the Metro Mayors Caucus convened hundreds of elected officials to discuss the issue of homelessness, suggesting the need for regional collaboration on the issue.

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Background on Regional Coordination

Built for Zero is a movement to measurably and equitably end homelessness. It uses community-level measurement, coordinated teams, comprehensive data, and targeted, data-driven investments to accomplish this aim. Over 100+ cities participate, including the Denver metro area.

Our efforts are centered around local planning and leadership, with our role being the facilitation of regional meetings, technical support, and data infrastructure.

Beginning with Veterans as a proofpoint, our region is using the Built for Zero framework to end homelessness. Why Veterans? The Department of Veterans Affairs has more housing resources than the family, youth, and single adult system, a critical part of exiting people from homelessness.

Stay updated on our region’s progress by subscribing to our newsletter. 

Resources

Built for Zero, Community Solutions: The Movement  

Case Conferencing Tool Bank: Built For Zero

Quality By-Name-List: Built for Zero  

Functional Zero: Built for Zero 

Fremont County, CO Ended Veteran Homelessness

How By-Name Data Helps Communities End Homelessness

Sincerely, thank you!

MDHI would like to extend a sincere thank you to the providers, frontline staff, CoC partners, elected leaders, people with lived expertise, and all stakeholders that collaborate every day to end homelessness and housing instability in our region. You are so needed.

We’d also like to thank Community Solutions for bringing this model to Metro Denver and supporting us along the way. Only by working together can we make homelessness history in our region.