Press Release

Since the passage of the statute, and the first stimulus supported grant cycle being awarded in October 2021, the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) has directly allocated $4,733,626 into supporting the economic development of existing communities across the state of Colorado. With 26 rural community-driven projects, these program dollars have demonstrated enhanced local economic impact through the positive outcomes in Colorado towns/cities and for their residents.

The Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) received applications totaling more than $21M in requests. Of that $21M, $6.7M was used to fund proposed projects in 16 communities for 102 businesses, with 65 of these being small disadvantaged businesses enterprises (DBEs).

Over the past year, the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) has awarded and allocated almost $130M through HB21-1329 and SB21-242, and almost $150M overall, for housing recovery and resiliency efforts across Colorado.

Following the devastating Marshall Fire and Straight Winds Event on December 30, 2021, the State of Colorado received an initial congressional allocation of Community Development Block Grant for Disaster Recovery. The Colorado Department of Local Affairs will be holding a Public Hearing to provide an overview of the Action Plan and to give the public opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback.

Durante los últimos 15 meses, el Estado de Colorado ha proporcionado ayuda de emergencia para la renta a más de 30,000 hogares. El programa fue creado para mitigar el impacto económico de la pandemia del Covid-19, pues muchos coloradenses perdieron sus empleos, o fueron obligados a pausar sus trabajos temporalmente.

For the past 15 months, the State of Colorado has provided emergency rental assistance to more than 30,000 households. The goal of the program was to mitigate the economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on people who were at an increased risk of losing their housing due to challenges with paying rent, as many people found their jobs eliminated or paused.

The Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA), through the Division of Local Government (DLG), recently awarded more than $18M in funding across 13 counties in Colorado. These 14 Innovative Housing Opportunities Incentive (IHOI) grants will provide 1,872 additional housing units, providing housing for approximately 4,867 people.

“Keeping Coloradans housed is one of the ultimate goals of the Department of Local Affairs. The Emergency Rental Assistance program has been a direct, fundamental benefit to Colorado families by enabling them to afford stable housing. We recognize that the inability to afford housing is a key contributor to the increase in homelessness in today's society, which is why programs like these remain crucial,” said Rick Garcia, Executive Director.

The Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA), through the Division of Housing (DOH), has contracted with multiple community partners to bring more affordable housing options to Coloradans across the state.

The U.S. Census Bureau released their county-level vintage 2021 population estimates, and they report that more than 73% (2,297) of U.S. counties experienced natural decrease in 2021 - up from 45.5% in 2019 and 55.5% in 2020. In Colorado, 35 of the 64 counties (55%) experienced natural decrease. Natural decrease occurs when there are more deaths than births in a population over a given period. Aging in the U.S. and Colorado, as well as increased mortality due to COVID and fewer births, contributed to this rise in natural decrease.