As a community, we have all been tremendously moved by the devastation and despair caused by Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. Hundreds of thousands of families have become homeless, and communities across our nation have responded to those in need.
The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless has committed its network of programs to provide housing, health care, mental health and support services to those victims who have been relocated to Colorado.
Yet, while we work to address the impact of this disaster, we must be ever mindful of the more than 10,000 people who are homeless across Colorado and who continue to need our help. Whether one’s homelessness was created by a hurricane or by the loss of a job, a catastrophic illness, the death of a loved one or domestic violence, the recovery process is remarkably similar. Emergency shelter must quickly be followed by longer-term housing, with jobs and support services to address the trauma of people’s homelessness and to move them toward self-sufficiency.
The outpouring of support for the newly homeless from the Gulf Coast has been remarkable. Yet the wrath of nature has unmasked deep divisions between those who have and those who have not. The scenes from New Orleans demonstrate the fragility of life and how many live so close to the edge. Many of our most vulnerable citizens are just a crisis away from homelessness.
The safety net in our community is seriously frayed. We only have a fraction of the resources needed to meet the housing and service needs of homeless families and individuals. Many others live just a paycheck or a crisis away from homelessness.
Coloradans have a unique opportunity in the next few months to build an infrastructure that prevents homelessness and moves those who are currently homeless into long-term housing.
On Monday, the Denver City Council will consider a Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness. This plan is notable in its comprehensive approach to the problem. It addresses both emergency needs as well as initiatives to creating lasting solutions. It addresses the needs of the chronically homeless person with disabilities, as well as the 43 percent of the homeless who are women and children.
Utilizing a “housing first” approach, the plan seeks to move people quickly from homelessness to housing, while addressing the health, mental health, job training and support services needed to prevent the reoccurrence of homelessness.
The plan also calls for an increase in treatment for substance abuse and mental illness, while recognizing that recovery is a long-term process that requires ongoing support.
We urge the Denver City Council to unanimously approve the plan and join with the business, faith and non-profit communities to implement it. We also urge neighboring counties, and the state, to develop similar plans to end homelessness. As Katrina has taught us, homelessness and poverty are not just urban problems, and their solution cannot rest disproportionately on any city.
The second opportunity to address the fragile safety net is to support Referendums C and D. The state budget cuts in recent years have fallen heavily on the backs of the poor and disabled. State-funded mental health services are 25 percent below the level of 2002, while the need for such services has increased. The mental-health system for indigent persons has the capacity to see only half of those in need. When services are in short supply, those most in need often go untreated, and their symptoms get worse. For too many, homelessness is the result.
Similarly, state funds for substance treatment services have declined by 13 percent since 2002. Yet the unmet treatment need for the substance-abusing population in Colorado is staggering. It is nearly impossible for homeless persons to access the residential treatment they need.
In addition, the state has not provided funding for affordable housing in the past two years. Its housing funds have been reduced from $22 million to zero.
If Referendums C and D are not approved by Colorado voters on Nov. 1, Mayor John Hickenlooper will need to reconvene the Denver Commission to End Homelessness and rename it the Denver Commission to Prevent a Massive Increase in Homelessness.
Colorado’s homeless and at- risk citizens need your help now, more than ever, to keep up with this increased need and move forward in ending homelessness in Colorado.
John Parvensky is president of the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless and serves on the Denver Commission to End Homelessness.
