Rapid Rehouseless Update – Some Progress.. Still more to do…

Rapid Rehouseless Update – Some Progress.. Still more to do…

After raising attention to the pending exit to the streets of people currently in housing through Rapid Rehousing which was part of a City “Housing Surge” in 2022, some steps are being taken to extend this housing assistance for the people timing out today for three more months. We greatly appreciate the steps by Colorado Coalition for the Homeless to extend the housing assistance time for those who were about to be kicked to the streets at the end of this month! 

However, permanent housing has still not been secured for all 39 people (the 21% who still remain in the program) who have been housed through this Rapid Rehousing assistance. Extending time with housing assistance is vital, but without permanent housing to move into it will continue to be temporary – with a hope it is not a temporary pathway back to the streets. 

With 79% of those who exited this Rapid Rehousing program to permanent housing so far doing so through support of a housing subsidy, it is clear Rapid Rehousing is not successful without being connected to permanent vouchers or permanent low-income units. Without additional long term housing subsidies, this program would have only housed 15% of participants. Otherwise put, only 15% of participants in this Rapid Rehousing moved into permanent housing by securing housing on their own without a subsidy. 

The City stated that “HOST’s rapid rehousing contracts generally include housing outcome goals of 80%”. This is not an 80% Rapid Rehousing success when only 15% got housing without being later given a long term housing subsidy. Rather it shows the necessity of permanent low-income subsidized housing. Furthermore, to consider it a success because a good number of people were given a long term voucher or other such subsidy, and then toss the 21% remaining to the streets because they were not lucky enough to be given a voucher earlier, is treating people as stats not human beings.  

While the extended housing assistance time for those timing out of this Rapid Rehousing program today is needed and appreciated, more steps are needed to ensure permanent housing for all in this program otherwise still facing the streets. We hope to see this over the coming months. 

Furthermore, this example of Rapid Rehousing ultimately being just another pathway back to the streets without additional permanent housing subsidies must be a lesson for Mayor Johnston. Currently the majority of the housing he has funded for “All In” participants to move into is temporary Rapid Rehousing assistance for 1 to 2 years. No permanent housing subsidies are funded or secured or being created for these people to move into after that. Without this, these hundreds of people in temporary housing will be back on the streets in 1 or 2 years.