Programs

Rental Assistance

Continuum of Care Permanent Supportive Housing (CoC PSH)

Continuum of Care Permanent Supportive Housing (CoC PSH) provides rental assistance and access to supportive services for individuals, youth, and families experiencing homelessness. Referrals are made through regional Coordinated Entry systems to ensure households with the greatest need and/or barriers to housing stability are prioritized for rental assistance. CoC PSH allows for a variety of housing choices and access to a range of community-based supportive services based on the individualized needs of participants.

Family Unification Program (FUP)

The Family Unification Program (FUP) provides non-time-limited rental assistance to families at risk of being separated due to lack of housing and 36 months of rental assistance to former foster care youth ages 18 to 24 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. FUP vouchers are administered by the Colorado Division of Housing in partnership with various contract agencies. Participants lease decent, safe, and affordable housing in the private housing market. The Colorado Department of Human Services’ Division of Child Welfare and other local service providers confirm eligibility.

The Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH)

Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH)combines rental assistance with case management and clinical services to create supportive housing for Veterans experiencing homelessness. A partnership between the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), VASH vouchers are distributed based on geographic need and public housing agency administrative performance. The Division of Housing contracts with public housing authorities and non-profit organizations to administer VASH vouchers across Colorado and directly administers VASH vouchers in the Denver Metro region.

State Housing Voucher (SHV) Program

State Housing Voucher (SHV) provides rental assistance and access to supportive services for extremely low-Income individuals with a disabling condition, disabilities, or special needs who are frequent or high-cost consumers of public systems such as mental health institutes experiencing homelessness or would be upon discharge/release. Referrals are made through regional Coordinated Entry systems, Colorado Department of Human Services’ Division of Child Welfare and Office of Behavioral Health, Colorado Department of Corrections’ Division of Adult Parole, and entities serving persons who need long-term supports and services in order to maintain housing.

Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA)

Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA)provides rental assistance and case management to address the supportive housing needs of low-income persons living with HIV/AIDS and their families. The Division of Housing annually awards HOPWA funding to the Colorado Health Network, formerly the Colorado AIDS Project, which distributes funds to the Boulder County AIDS Project, Northern Colorado AIDS Project, Southern Colorado AIDS Project, and Western Colorado AIDS Project according to need in their respective areas.

Housing Choice Vouchers

The Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program, once Section 8, helps low-income Coloradans rent affordable housing. The Division of Housing contracts with public housing authorities and non-profit organizations to run the HCV Program. Vouchers are given by those agencies, not the Division of Housing. Tenants receive funding based on their income and can choose any type of housing including apartments, townhomes and single-family homes.

Colorado Choice Transitions (CCT)

DOLA works in partnership with the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) to administer CCT. The program is Colorado’s version of the federal grant program, "Money Follows the Person." The program allows Medicaid funding to follow a person from an institutional setting to housing in the community. The goal of CCT is to move persons with disabilities out of nursing homes and other long term care and into the community.

Colorado Choice Transitions application packet and other forms.

Rapid Re-Housing, Prevention, and Other Programs

Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG)

Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) provides funding to local governments, homeless service providers, and Continuum of Care regions for street outreach, emergency shelters, homeless prevention, rapid-rehousing, and the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). Awarded to the Division of Housing through a federal formula grant, ESG funding is allocated on an annual basis through a competitive application process.

Homeless Prevention Activities Programs

Homeless Prevention Activities Program (HPAP) created through Colorado Revised Statute § 26-7.8-101, provides funding to nonprofits and local governments throughout Colorado to prevent at-risk households from experiencing homelessness. The funding for the program is made available through a variety of sources, including the State Income Tax Check-off program, which allows Colorado residents to make voluntary contributions to the program when filing their state income tax returns. The HPAP program is administered by the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA), Division of Housing, Office of Homeless Initiatives. DOLA’s administration of HPAP is overseen by an Advisory Committee, which includes representation from the Colorado Department of Human Services and additional members of the public selected by DOLA's Executive Director. HPAP grants are awarded throughout the state based on a competitive application process as outlined in an annual Request for Applications (RFA).

Next Step 2-Gen Rapid Re-Housing

Next Step 2-Gen Rapid Re-housing (RRH) and/or Homelessness Prevention (HP) provides move-in assistance, temporary rent subsidies, and case management services to families with school-aged children and unaccompanied students 18 years of age or older who are experiencing homelessness or at-risk of homelessness. Next Step 2-Gen aims to ensure students experiencing housing instability have the basic foundation of housing and support in order to achieve academic stability and success. The Division of Housing contracts with community partnerships between school districts, housing providers, and supportive service providers to help participants quickly exit homelessness, return to housing, and remain stably housed. All initial referrals come through the McKinney-Vento Homeless Liaisons within the public school districts partnering in the Next Step 2-Gen RRH or HP Program.

Colorado Rapid Re-Housing for Re-Entry

Colorado Rapid Re-Housing for Re-Entry (COR3) is a time-limited, service-intensive housing stabilization intervention designed to assist households with prior or current justice involvement and behavioral health needs experiencing homelessness, and those on the verge of homelessness, by providing case management and temporary financial assistance designed to secure and/or maintain permanent, stable housing for program participants. COR3 is administered by the Volunteers of America Colorado Branch and accepts referrals from regional Coordinated Entry Systems and the Colorado Department of Corrections.

Fort Lyon Supportive Residential Community

The Fort Lyon Supportive Residential Community provides recovery-oriented transitional housing with peer-led recovery groups, employment and vocational training programs, life skill-building activities, educational opportunities at local community colleges, and connection to community-based supportive services. It serves persons experiencing homelessness from across Colorado struggling with substance use, with an emphasis on serving veterans. Operated by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless in partnership with the Division of Housing, and Bent County, Fort Lyon combines recovery-oriented housing with counseling, educational, vocational, and employment services. Located at the former Fort Lyon VA Hospital in Bent County, the Fort Lyon program supports the long-term recovery, health stability, employment, and self-sufficiency of individuals struggling with substance use and homelessness who choose to enroll in the voluntary program for up to two years.

Office of Homeless Youth Services

The Office of Homeless Youth Services (OHYS) facilitates the Advisory Council for Homeless Youth Services, Youth Supplemental Survey (in conjunction with the Continuum of Care Regions), provides technical assistance and coordination of stakeholders and resources for infrastructure regarding resources for youth experiencing homelessness. OHYS collaborates with leaders from state and local government, private nonprofit organizations, federal departments, homeless and formerly homeless youth to address local and state needs surrounding youth homelessness.