COLORADO SPRINGS · SEPT. 15–16
Building a Resilient Homelessness Prevention and Response System
Antlers Hotel · 4 South Cascade Avenue, Colorado Springs, CO 80903
2026 Colorado Statewide Forum
We are honored to welcome you to Colorado Springs as we come together to strengthen, innovate, and build a more resilient homelessness prevention and response system across our state. Over the next two days, we have a unique opportunity to learn, share best practices, lift up lived expertise, and collaborate on bold strategies that drive meaningful change in our communities.
While our work addresses critical challenges, this forum is above all a space for community and connection. We encourage you to dive into the sessions, exchange ideas, build new partnerships, and most importantly have fun while doing it!
Thank you for bringing your dedication, wisdom, and energy. Let's learn together, inspire one another, and make the most of our time here!
This event is proudly hosted by the Colorado Division of Housing in partnership with Community Solutions and Colorado's four Continuums of Care (CoCs):
Everything you need to navigate the forum including venue maps and schedule can be found in this event app. If you have any questions, please stop by the registration table in the North prefunction space where the Community Solutions team will be happy to assist you.
Breakfast, lunch, and refreshments will be provided on both days. All meals will be served in the East prefunction space directly outside the main ballroom entrance.
Complimentary self-parking is available onsite for all attendees. To receive validation for free parking, please provide your license plate number to the front desk or valet team.
Please stop by the community art table during breaks! Paint a pebble to take home and keep on your desk or workspace as a tangible reminder of our shared mission and the vital impact you make every day especially when the work gets tough.
Your feedback helps shape future forums. Scan the QR code with your phone's camera, or tap it, to complete the survey.
Heritage Level
September 15–16 · Colorado Springs
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Tuesday, September 15 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
9:00 – 9:15 AM
Join us as we kick off the second Colorado Statewide Forum on Building a Resilient Homelessness Prevention and Response System! This opening session will provide a warm welcome to all attendees, set the stage for our two days of collaboration, and offer a high-level overview of the day's agenda. We will also highlight key success stories and data points from across the state, illustrating the power of our collective efforts to build a more resilient homelessness prevention and response system.
Audience: All forum participants
9:15 – 11:15 AM
Join fellow sector leaders from across the state for an interactive session designed to inform DOH's upcoming proposal for a statewide strategy on homelessness prevention and resolution. Required by HB26-1202, this proposal will be presented to the Colorado State legislature in January 2027.
Your feedback in this session will directly shape the proposal DOLA brings to the state legislature. In facilitated small-group cross-regional discussions, participants will connect, share local priorities, and provide critical insights into key areas:
All notes collected will be synthesized, shared with attendees, and directly leveraged to shape the final proposal for the development of a statewide strategy on homelessness prevention and resolution in January 2027.
Audience: All forum participants. Join us in the ballroom immediately following the opening session for an interactive, full-group workshop. Everyone is welcome, and your input is vital.
This presentation focuses on tenant protections within Colorado and strategies to support individuals experiencing housing instability and facing potential eviction. It provides comprehensive education regarding the eviction process and explores methods for community collaboration to prevent displacement. Additionally, the session will examine key resources, such as Colorado Legal Services and Colorado Springs Tenants Union.
Audience: Service providers
Karl Brevik (he/him), Supervising Attorney, Community Law Program, CED Law
Karl Brevik is the Supervising Attorney of the Community Law Program at CED Law, and a Senior Attorney in Tenant Legal Services. Karl works as a community educator and advocate, serving on the 4th Judicial Access to Justice Commission, volunteering at court organized legal days, and hosting community clinics across the state of Colorado. The Community Law team also brings legal education to tenants, court staff, and community organizations to enable the proper exercise of renters' rights. Karl is also an actor with SAG/AFTRA and volunteers his time providing trainings on Constitutional Rights.
Rachel Evans (they/she), Legal Education Specialist, Community Economic Defense Project
Rachel Evans is a Legal Education Specialist on the Community Law team at CED Law and the Community Economic Defense Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to housing justice and economic stability. With a decade of education experience in classrooms and community spaces, Rachel's current role is dedicated to distilling complex legal information into digestible and actionable content for renters, service providers, and community partners. Rachel centers accessibility, language justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion in all aspects of their work.
Alisa Rizo (she/her), Senior Manager of Program Operations, Community Economic Defense Project
Alisa Rizo is the Senior Manager of Program Operations for the Community Economic Defense Project Colorado Springs Office. Alisa's current role is centered around building community relations in Colorado Springs, collaborating on community events, and understanding the gaps of services. Alisa is a proud member of Colorado Springs Tenants, she serves on the Tenant Council, as a commissioner on the 4th Judicial Access to Justice, and Colorado Commission of Community Services and a member of Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition.
This working session is reserved for designated Continuum of Care (CoC) lead representatives who have received a direct invitation. All other attendees are encouraged to attend alternative breakout sessions at this time.
Addressing youth homelessness requires holistic, highly collaborative solutions. This joint session brings together two innovative approaches to supportive housing and emergency services for high-acuity young adults. First, TGTHR explores their integrated wraparound care model, demonstrating how behavioral health, case management, peer support, and property management collaborate in real time to navigate acute crises and maintain housing stability. Next, Urban Peak introduces “The Mothership,” an all-in-one campus providing shelter, healthcare, drop-in services, and employment support under a single roof, showcasing first-year data where youth exit homelessness three times faster. Together, presenters will share actionable strategies, lessons learned, and inspiration to help communities replicate these integrated frameworks nationwide.
Audience: Service providers
Annie Bacci, CEO, TGTHR
Annie Bacci brings more than 20 years of professional experience in creating supportive housing opportunities for youth and young adults while working at the intersection of systems, policy, and program design. Prior to joining TGTHR, Annie held the role of Director of The Corporation for Supportive Housing's (CSH) Mountain West region, where she provided overall strategic direction for the region and its Colorado-based team. This included leading work in several states to create permanent housing solutions for youth experiencing homelessness. Annie also has prior experience at the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA), where she oversaw the Homelessness and Supportive Housing unit as the Manager of Homeless Programs.
Caroline Merritt, Mental Health Therapist, TGTHR
Caroline Merritt is a Licensed Professional Counselor serving as the on-site therapist for TGTHR's Permanent Supportive Housing programs in Boulder and Denver. She practices from a Housing First philosophy and is passionate about providing trauma-informed, person-centered care through collaborative, wraparound support.
Nico Schmitt, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Urban Peak
Nico has served in various roles at Urban Peak since 2015, starting as a volunteer and later, outreach case manager. Nico became Urban Peak's first training manager in 2021 before being promoted to assistant director of training and project management in 2023, where they facilitated programmatic planning for the new Mothership campus. Nico assumed their current role as the director of strategic initiatives in January 2025. Prior to working at Urban Peak, Nico facilitated a leadership program for high schoolers centered on racial justice, worked for a community center providing after-school programming and tutoring support to undocumented youth, and worked in adult homeless services across three other cities. Nico holds a master's in social work from Colorado State University.
Communities across Colorado are navigating rising concern about homelessness, public safety, behavioral health needs, encampments, and the limits of local government response. In Arvada, the City is using human-centered design to move beyond polarized debate and toward a more coordinated, dignity-centered approach that supports both housed and unhoused residents.
This session will share Arvada's emerging model for connecting community conversations, coordinated outreach, and a specialized municipal court docket into a broader homelessness response strategy. Presenters will discuss how community conversations create space for housed residents to better understand benefits, tradeoffs and challenges in designing strategies to address homelessness in our community. The session will also explore how municipal court innovation can support accountability, service connection, and diversion while helping communities respond more effectively to high-need individuals.
Rather than presenting a single program as the solution, this session will focus on how human-centered design can help communities listen across stakeholder groups, identify system pain points, communicate complexity, and test practical approaches. Participants will hear lessons learned from Arvada's work to balance compassion, accountability, neighborhood impacts, public trust, and the lived realities of people experiencing homelessness and the service providers who work to support them.
Audience: Service providers, program leads, city/county/state leaders
Rachael Kuroiwa, Director of Communications and Engagement, City of Arvada
Rachael Kuroiwa oversees strategic communications and public involvement for the City of Arvada. She is dedicated to fostering transparent government communication and guiding residents through high-stakes, emotionally charged public issues. Rachael has pioneered initiatives in deliberative engagement and civic trust, particularly regarding homelessness strategies. She holds a master's in communication and frequently instructs others on engagement strategy and effective public relations.
Lynette Badasarian, Homelessness Program Manager, City of Arvada
As the Homelessness Program Manager for Arvada, Lynette Badasarian is a vital new addition to the municipal team. She possesses more than 14 years of expertise in poverty alleviation and housing services. Her career includes establishing a nonprofit to address hygiene disparities, as well as leadership roles in local government and large-scale shelter operations. This diverse perspective fuels her commitment to resolving housing instability. In her personal time, Lynette enjoys life with her husband, three teenagers, and their pet bulldog.
Judge Kathryn Kurtz, Presiding Judge, City of Arvada
Judge Kathryn (Katie) Kurtz serves as the Presiding Judge for the City of Arvada, leading the Municipal Court. Her academic background includes degrees in sociology and psychology from CU Boulder, followed by a Juris Doctor from the University of Denver. During her tenure at the First Judicial District Attorney's Office between 2003 and 2016, she specialized in human trafficking and crimes involving children, even launching the state's inaugural Human Trafficking Unit. Before her current role, she spent four years as a relief municipal judge across several Colorado communities, including Golden, Northglenn, Federal Heights, and Lakewood.
This session will explore how the City and County of Denver has transformed traditional street outreach into a coordinated, family-centered response for households experiencing unsheltered homelessness. Grounded in trauma-informed practice, the model emphasizes timing, trust, cross-system collaboration, and data-informed decision-making. A key focus will be the data behind the program: how it shaped the model, measures success, and continues to drive ongoing improvements. Attendees will gain insight into how Denver designed, implemented, and evaluated this approach and will walk away with practical strategies to adapt and scale similar models in their own communities.
Format: a 30-minute presentation followed by a 45-minute panel and Q&A featuring leaders across Denver's Family Outreach Team, family shelter operations, and homelessness resolution contracts.
Audience: Homelessness response system leaders, service providers, outreach teams, shelter operators, and local government staff working with people experiencing unsheltered homelessness
Emily Klaassen, Community Services Supervisor, City and County of Denver
Emily Klaassen is a Community Services Supervisor with the City and County of Denver's Department of Housing Stability, where she leads the Family Outreach Team serving families experiencing homelessness. She oversees multidisciplinary outreach efforts, system coordination, community partnerships and data informed systems to improve access to shelter, housing, and supportive services. Emily led the development of Denver's coordinated family outreach model, transforming the city's approach to supporting families experiencing homelessness. Prior to her current role, she worked in workforce development, international education, and nonprofit leadership across the U.S., Nicaragua, and Colombia.
Jesse Miller, Family Shelter Program Officer, City and County of Denver
Jesse Miller serves as a Family Shelter Program Officer with the City and County of Denver's Department of Housing Stability (HOST), where she oversees family shelter operations, provider partnerships, and system strategy for Denver's family homelessness response. She leads efforts to strengthen shelter services, improve cross-system collaboration, and coordinate Denver's family emergency weather response. Before joining HOST, Jesse led emergency shelter operations in San Diego during the COVID-19 pandemic, including implementing innovative harm reduction shelter models and managing large-scale shelter operations. She is passionate about building responsive, family-centered homelessness systems that translate policy into effective practice.
Rosemary McQuiggan, Family Program Officer, City and County of Denver
Rosemary McQuiggan is an experienced social services professional with more than ten years of leadership in family homelessness programs, coordinated entry, and supportive services across Metro Denver. As a Program Officer with Denver's Department of Housing Stability, she manages a portfolio of City-funded permanent supportive housing and rapid rehousing programs, guides system improvements, and strengthens collaboration among providers. Rosemary previously supported regional coordinated entry efforts with MDHI's OneHome system and held key roles in Denver District Drug Court and several youth and family service organizations. She holds a Master of Social Work from Metropolitan State University and is completing an Executive Certificate in Affordable Housing.
Together, communities can move from crisis response to lasting change. This session explores how housing, health care, human services, public safety, and local partners can unite around shared goals, data, and accountability to build more coordinated, compassionate, and person-centered responses to homelessness.
Mesa County Collaborative for the Unhoused (MCCUH), the intergovernmental and multi-agency collaborative effort supporting the Unhoused Strategies and Implementation Plan, with people experiencing homelessness at its core, are leading edge in regard to holistic community wide involvement. With the increase in unsheltered homelessness statewide, other communities may be looking to implement their own strategies, so it would be beneficial for them to learn from what we've already accomplished through effective system building. This includes utilizing collaboration, setting governance standards, facilitating community work on specific areas for improvement (Unhoused Needs Strategic Plan), offering technical support and more.
Audience: Local government leaders, housing authority directors, homeless service providers, healthcare and social services professionals, and regional advocates seeking intergovernmental, data-driven approaches to homelessness
Scott Aker, MCCUH Chair and CEO, Grand Junction Housing Authority
Scott Aker has been GJHA CEO since August 2025. Prior to that he served as COO for eight years and served on the board the five years prior to that. He has 28 years' experience in human services and housing in Mesa County.
Stephania Vasconez, MCCUH Treasurer and Executive Director, Mutual Aid Partners
Stephania Vasconez is Founder and Executive Director of Mutual Aid Partners, advancing community-led collaboration, advocacy, and resource access to reduce food insecurity and strengthen equity-based support in Mesa County.
Sherry Price, MCCUH Partner and Housing Specialist, City of Grand Junction
Sherry Price is a Housing Specialist with the City of Grand Junction, bringing more than 30 years of leadership, program development, community partnerships, and cross-sector collaboration to strengthen communities.
Elevating Voices is a multi-phase community initiative that uses art as a powerful tool to reframe perceptions of the unhoused community while fostering meaningful dialogue between individuals experiencing homelessness and local decision-makers. This presentation will highlight three phases of the project: an initial documentary screening paired with a panel discussion that brought elected officials into direct conversation with the community; a second phase in which a professional artist facilitated art therapy sessions with unsheltered residents, culminating in a compelling portrait series now displayed at a local community center; and a third phase that expanded participation by providing art supplies and hosting inclusive art-making events, leading to a public Art Showcase and Market where residents with lived experience sold their work. Collectively, these experiences empowered unhoused and at-risk individuals to be seen as creators and contributors, rather than as symbols of community deficit.
Attendees will gain practical insights into how art, an accessible and universal language, can be leveraged to inspire empathy, shift narratives, and build bridges across diverse Colorado communities.
Audience: Anyone who works with people experiencing homelessness
Lindsey Earl, Poverty Reduction and Homeless Services Manager, Adams County
Lindsey Earl is an experienced homelessness reduction professional with eight years of expertise in grant writing, program development, system navigation, data-informed decision-making, and servant leadership. Lindsey is passionate about transforming systems to support our most underserved community members. Lindsey lives in Adams County with her weird mutt named Bug, propagates houseplants in her free time, and spends as much time in the mountains as possible.
Allison Blakeney, Homelessness Resolution Supervisor, Adams County
Allison Blakeney is Homelessness Resolution Supervisor for Adams County. She has worked in a variety of settings including homelessness services, DV/IPV education and sheltering, and food justice. Allison is passionate about belonging, care, freedom, and joy and has also been a dancer and performer for more than 20 years. In their spare time, they like to spend time with loved ones, dance, roller skate, do crafts, eat delicious food, watch good TV and laugh.
Jessica Kalkmann, Homelessness Resolution Navigator Specialist, Adams County
Jessica Kalkmann is a Homelessness Resolution Navigator Specialist for Adams County and a Colorado Peer and Family Specialist (CPFS). Using her lived experience with mental health, recovery, and navigating complex systems, she enjoys helping people overcome barriers and move toward stability. As a lifelong learner, Jessica is passionate about the arts, foreign languages, and has a deep love for animals.
The Community Investment Alliance's Lived Experience Advisory Board (LEAB) conducted a comprehensive 40-question survey with individuals experiencing homelessness in Durango, Colorado, capturing quantitative and qualitative data on root causes, service barriers, policy impacts, and demographics. In this session, a leading voice from the LEAB will present an in-depth analysis contextualizing these local findings within national homelessness trends. Complementing the data, lived-experience perspectives will be shared to ground the research in real-world context, providing depth, weight, and human insight into the hardships faced by the unhoused community.
Audience: Colorado stakeholders, policy makers, and nonprofits seeking a better understanding of homelessness in southwest Colorado
Antonio Espinoza, U.S. Veteran and founding member of the Community Investment Alliance Lived Experience Board
Antonio Espinoza is a U.S. veteran and a founding member of the BOS Lived Experience Advisory Board, an advocacy group from Durango, Colorado. After separating from service in 2019, Antonio ended up homeless in Colorado. He began to write for the paper while living at The Purple Cliffs, a now closed homeless camp in La Plata County; his articles and op-eds have been published regularly by the Durango Herald for almost five years. With the help of supporters, the LEAB were present at the '23 and '24 Day at the Capitol events to advocate for the unhoused in southwest Colorado. They have performed and organized multiple Q&A panels for the unhoused in Durango, Colorado, as well as successfully developing and distributing a questionnaire to gather data on conditions and concerns directly from the unhoused community. Antonio has been housed since 2024.
As disasters increase in frequency and complexity, homeless and housing-insecure populations face disproportionate challenges in accessing safe, stable, and equitable disaster housing solutions. This interactive, facilitated roundtable will engage housing authorities, homeless service providers, emergency managers, resident services professionals, and community partners in a collaborative discussion focused on barriers, partnerships, and promising practices for disaster housing and recovery. Participants will share experiences, identify unmet needs, and explore cross-sector coordination strategies that better support vulnerable populations before, during, and after disasters. Insights gathered will inform ongoing disaster housing and resilience initiatives led by the State of Colorado.
Participants will explore multi-agency partnership models and create actionable strategies to build equitable, resilient disaster housing solutions in their communities.
Audience: Public housing authorities, CoC and homelessness service providers, resident services professionals, emergency managers, and local and state government officials
Patrick Howell, Disaster Housing Recovery Program Manager, Colorado Department of Local Affairs, Division of Housing
Patrick Howell is the Disaster Housing Recovery Program Manager for the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, Division of Housing, where he leads statewide initiatives to strengthen disaster housing preparedness, response, recovery, and resilience. With more than 20 years of experience in disaster recovery and housing resilience, Patrick has worked with federal, state, local, and international partners to improve outcomes for disaster-affected communities, focusing on advancing disaster housing systems, supporting households with the greatest barriers and unmet needs after disasters, and developing policies and partnerships that help communities recover more quickly and equitably.
Join us for an in-depth presentation on the Colorado Emergency Rental Assistance (CERA) Program, which was established with funding from Proposition 123 in February 2025. In this session, we will explore the program's evolution, from its inception to its current state, highlighting how the state has adapted to meet the urgent needs of renters across Colorado.
We will provide an overview of the program's eligibility criteria, including who qualifies for assistance, the types of support available, and how individuals and households can access critical resources. Participants will also learn about the State of Colorado's efforts to prevent housing instability and displacement across the state. This session is designed for housing professionals, policymakers, and anyone interested in understanding how emergency rental assistance works and the impact it has had on the local community. Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of the program's history, current offerings, and future directions, as well as practical insights into navigating the application process.
Audience: Housing providers, landlords, agencies, community members and legislative representatives
Maria Stein, Program Manager, Emergency Rental Assistance
Maria Stein is the Program Manager for the State of Colorado's Emergency Rental Assistance (CERA) program. She has worked with those experiencing homelessness in Colorado for the last 11 years, both in the field and as a supervisor. Prior experience includes work with the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless and the Baltimore Public Defenders Office. In her spare time, she can be found living by the rules of her three-year-old or staring at the plants in her garden.
Carly Miers, Program Specialist, Emergency Rental Assistance
Carly Miers is a homelessness prevention professional with more than seven years of experience in direct service, grant writing, and program development. Currently serving as a Program Specialist for the State of Colorado's Emergency Rental Assistance (CERA) program, Carly is passionate about transforming access to services and believes that the most meaningful work happens when people feel seen, heard, and empowered. When she's not working, she can be found exploring local coffee shop patios with her partner and dog or soaking up a sunny pool day.
While often viewed solely as repositories for books, public libraries have evolved into the “front porch” of the civic social safety net. In Durango, the library serves as a primary point of entry for individuals experiencing homelessness, offering a rare low-barrier, climate-controlled, and dignified environment. This session explores the library's unique role as a Community Connector, bridging the gap between unhoused patrons and the service providers, local government, and community resources intended to support them. We will examine the “Durango Model” of radical hospitality, discussing how to train staff for trauma-informed service, forge high-impact partnerships with local nonprofits, and transform the library from a passive resource into an active engine of community resilience.
Participants will explore libraries as trusted community connectors, learn strategies to co-locate essential social services on-site, and examine policies that maintain a safe, inclusive environment while supporting unhoused patrons.
Audience: Anyone who is underutilizing libraries as community connectors in serving the unhoused, directly or indirectly
Luke Alvey-Henderson, Director, Durango Public Library
Luke Alvey-Henderson serves as the Director of the Durango Public Library, where he leads community-driven initiatives to expand access and services for traditionally underserved populations. With more than a decade of public library leadership, he is a strong proponent of building multi-agency partnerships with health, human service, and nonprofit organizations to break down systemic barriers to equity. His work focuses on leveraging public libraries as welcoming, accessible hubs that offer essential resources, connection, and dignity for individuals experiencing homelessness.
Challenges with finding an affordable rental unit create a frustrating bottleneck in our state's homelessness resolution pipeline. While regulatory tenant protections are vital, voucher holders still frequently face a “ticket to nowhere” when private market landlords quietly exit the affordable housing ecosystem. To bridge this gap, the State of Colorado is exploring opportunities to incentivize landlords, researching innovative models from across the country as well as ideating on homegrown solutions to this challenge. This interactive Policy Lab invites CoC leaders, housing specialists, and community partners to help the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) shape the framework of these potential solutions.
Together, we will interrogate the core administrative and financial barriers driving landlord attrition and perform a rapid root-cause analysis on these barriers. Participants will share existing local successes and actively shape state policy discussions, including providing structured feedback on promising national strategies being explored. Come prepared to share your local insights, challenge existing assumptions, and co-design a robust public-private partnership model that converts available rental assistance into stable homes.
Audience: A diverse group of stakeholders, including community partners, local leaders, individuals with lived experience, service providers, and landlord groups from across Colorado. Whether you are directly engaged in housing policy or working on the front lines of homelessness resolution, your perspective is essential to shaping a sustainable and effective statewide landlord incentive framework.
Nellie Stagg, Associate Office Director, Office of Homeless Initiatives, Colorado Department of Local Affairs, Division of Housing
Nellie Stagg is the Associate Office Director for the Office of Homeless Initiatives within the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, Division of Housing (DOH). She previously served as DOH's Transformational Homelessness Response Manager, leading a team managing more than $90 million in statewide grant funds to address homelessness. Prior to joining DOH, she was the Senior Program Director at the Community Resource Center (CRC) directing statewide rural capacity-building initiatives, and worked in the Lt. Governor's Office. When not driving across Colorado, she can be found at the library, in the pottery studio, or in the community garden.
Rural communities often face homelessness without the funding or infrastructure for a complete housing continuum. This session explores two Colorado rural models addressing this gap: supportive housing for young adults in Montrose (The Village on San Juan, presented by CASA of the 7th Judicial District) and bridge transitional housing for families and seniors in Chaffee County (Molly House, presented by Chaffee Housing Authority). Presenters will cover program design, cross-agency partnerships, daily operations, and relationship-centered support. Through facilitated discussion, participants will compare approaches across rural and urban contexts to identify practical strategies that build trust, preserve dignity, and solve problems, even with limited resources.
Audience: Any participant navigating family and senior housing instability in small or resort-economy communities, where high cost of living meets thin service infrastructure
Carlton Mason, Chief Executive Officer, CASA of the 7th Judicial District
Carlton Mason has served as the CEO for CASA of the 7th Judicial District since 2014. In the years since, CASA has seen a 700% increase in their annual budget and net assets topping $14.8 million. “We often find ourselves caught between a society expecting compliance and productivity and a child seeking acceptance and safety. Our first work is to model relational safety, and assure them they are worthy. If we do our job well, they will flourish and society will reap the rewards.”
Kylie Garcia, Lead Housing Coordinator, CASA of the 7th Judicial District
Kylie Garcia is the Lead Housing Coordinator at CASA of the 7th Judicial District. “My role is to walk alongside the tenants that live in the supportive housing that CASA offers. I support and assist everyone in their journey, good times and bad times. I do this with grace, no judgement, a light heart and my team's support. I too have found myself struggling and needing help. I truly do this job for the youth 18–25 years old.”
Daniel Flanders, Chaffee Housing Authority
Daniel Flanders holds an M.S. in Clinical Psychology and works at Chaffee Housing Authority providing case management, housing navigation, emergency shelter placement, and rapid rehousing support for families and seniors experiencing homelessness. He leads Molly House, a four-unit transitional housing site for families and seniors awaiting permanent housing. His background includes trauma-informed youth and family work, restorative practices, wilderness therapy, and crisis response. He also volunteers with Chaffee County Search and Rescue South.
Laura Thompson, Chaffee Housing Authority
Laura Thompson brings experience in affordable housing, nonprofit leadership, program management, and community engagement to her work with Chaffee Housing Authority. Her background includes serving as Executive Director of Denver VOICE, a nonprofit street paper supporting people experiencing homelessness through dignified employment, and Program Manager for HERO Alliance, where she implemented housing counseling for clients with disabilities. She also spent more than a decade in public education operations and communications. Laura's work centers on equity, collaboration, and expanding access to stable housing.
In 2023, Boulder County received grant funding to support housing-focused street outreach in Nederland. The funds provide full-time outreach for people experiencing homelessness and fire mitigation education to reduce wildfire risk. An ATV was purchased to reach remote areas, with the Town of Nederland providing parking and storage. Boulder County also assists with fire mitigation during emergencies and has budgeted for emergency evacuation if needed. While leveraging street outreach for fire mitigation is not new, this revised program has been highly successful and collaborative. The interactive presentation covers peer support, outreach roles, successes, challenges, adaptability, and cross-system collaboration.
Audience: Anyone interested in cross-system homelessness outreach, community fire mitigation, or peer-led housing solutions
Heidi Grove, M.A., Division Manager of Homeless Systems and Coordinated Response, Boulder County Housing Department
Heidi Grove is Division Manager of Homeless Systems and Coordinated Response at Boulder County Housing Department. With more than 20 years' experience in multi-modality systems across private, nonprofit, and government sectors, she has worked with a variety of populations including youth, adult offenders, legal counsel, probation officers, social services, educators, lawmakers, and behavioral health professionals. Her expertise spans research design, evaluation, data analysis, and reporting, and she understands the complexities surrounding intersectional justice, child welfare, mental health, education, environmental factors, and family systems.
Molly East, J.D., Executive Director, Focus Reentry
Since 2018, Molly East has guided Focus Reentry's growth from a volunteer mentor program to a full housing and reentry organization. Under her leadership, the group launched two housing initiatives, tripled its staff, and built a team with significant firsthand experience in homelessness, recovery, or justice issues. Molly has advanced housing-focused solutions for homelessness and justice involvement in Boulder County, notably with Focus Reentry's Nederland Housing-Focused Street Outreach Program. By prioritizing outreach and community collaboration, this program helped 25% of participants transition into permanent housing. Molly expands Focus Reentry's programs to address changing needs, prioritizing effective community-based approaches for housing security, reducing recidivism, and supporting sustained achievement.
Over the past decade, Outreach Fort Collins has experienced the immense value of collaborating with Fort Collins Police Services. As our program has grown, we have gathered countless examples of how this partnership has benefited both our organizations and, most importantly, provided vital support for the unhoused individuals we serve.
Participants will learn how our partnership developed, focusing on MOUs, funding support, client confidentiality, and dispatcher collaboration. We will share data outputs, outcomes, and evidence of how this model supports unhoused individuals while reducing pressure on the emergency response system. Finally, we will share strategies for building relationships with police and first responders in your own community.
Audience: New and expanding outreach programs. Also valuable for community leaders, emergency responders, and homeless service providers
Lisa Dunworth, LCSW, Community Partnerships and Behavioral Health Manager, Outreach Fort Collins
Lisa Dunworth serves as the Community Partnerships and Behavioral Health Manager for Outreach Fort Collins. She completed her MSW from Colorado State in 2016 and has served in various roles at Outreach Fort Collins since graduation. Lisa's work focuses on the connection points between OFC and the varied service providers and emergency responders in Northern Colorado. She has played an active role in building the Northern Colorado Coordinated Entry program since its beginnings and works to support her team and clients in OFC in building sustainable and thorough connections to various physical and mental health providers.
Sergeant Annie Hill, Fort Collins Police Services
Annie Hill is currently the sergeant over the Homeless Outreach & Proactive Engagement (HOPE) Team and the Mental Health Response Team at Fort Collins Police Services. She has been with the department for more than 17 years and holds a bachelor's degree in criminology from the University of Minnesota. She is also a certified addictions technician and a registered psychotherapist. She has several years of experience counseling court ordered clients and at risk teens. Annie is a crisis negotiator for the police department and is a director for Crisis Intervention Teams in Colorado, teaching law enforcement officers around the state.
Wednesday, September 16 8:00 AM – 1:30 PM
9:00 – 10:10 AM
Sustainable solutions begin with listening to the real experts, those with lived experience. Facilitated by Amber Chandler, Deputy Director of Systems Change at Community Solutions, this powerful panel elevates vital perspectives from lived experience leaders spanning all four CoC regions. Together, we will explore why meaningful engagement of people with lived experience of homelessness is not just valuable, but indispensable to dismantling systemic barriers, informing impactful decision-making, and driving systemic change across Colorado.
Audience: All forum participants. Gather in the ballroom immediately following breakfast to hear powerful perspectives and insights from lived experience leaders across Colorado.
Amber Chandler, Deputy Director of Systems Change, Community Solutions
Amber Chandler is the Deputy Director, Systems Change, where she spearheads the design and implementation of equitable, data-driven system improvements to address the root causes of homelessness. In this role, she leverages disaggregated data, equity analysis, and cross-sector collaboration to achieve measurable, population-level reductions in homelessness. Amber empowers communities with the tools and strategies to identify and address disparities in their homelessness response systems, fostering transformative partnerships with PWLEH, public health, healthcare, and housing institutions.
Kandy Lewis (she/her), Pikes Peak Continuum of Care
Kandy Lewis is an advocate, community leader, and member of the Pikes Peak Continuum of Care, where she serves on the Board Development Committee and Lived Experience Advisory Board. A member of the Colorado Springs Homeless Union for three years and contributor to Unhoused and Unnamed, she has testified for the Necessary Documents Bill and spoken before City Council for shelter diversity and basic hygiene access. Featured in local media, podcasts, and the docuseries Until We Are All Home, Kandy was unhoused from 2015 until securing housing at Greenway Flats in 2024, where for her first Thanksgiving housed she cooked dinner for 17 people, and in the following year hosted 20 people and three dogs. Kandy believes every heartbeat deserves a home and it is all about the hearts you touch and the smiles you spread.
Leah Hobart, Co-Director of Outreach, HOPE, Longmont
Leah Hobart is Co-Director of Outreach at Homeless Outreach Providing Encouragement (HOPE) in Longmont. Before working in homeless services, Leah spent two years unsheltered on the streets of the community she now serves. For five years, she has turned that experience into a deep commitment to helping people experiencing homelessness and improving the systems meant to serve them. Leah also serves on the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative's Lived Experience Action Committee, where she brings firsthand perspective to regional decision-making. She is passionate about creating systems that lead with empathy, recognize the realities of homelessness, and treat every person with dignity.
Antonio Espinoza, U.S. Veteran and founding member of the Community Investment Alliance Lived Experience Board
Antonio Espinoza is a U.S. veteran and a founding member of the Lived Experience Advisory Board, an advocacy group from Durango, Colorado. After separating from service in 2019, Antonio ended up homeless in Colorado. He began to write for the paper while living at The Purple Cliffs, a now closed homeless camp in La Plata County; his articles and op-eds have been published regularly by the Durango Herald for almost five years. With the help of supporters, the LEAB were present at the '23 and '24 Day at the Capitol events to advocate for the unhoused in southwest Colorado. They have performed and organized multiple Q&A panels for the unhoused in Durango, Colorado, as well as successfully developing and distributing a questionnaire to gather data on conditions and concerns directly from the unhoused community. Antonio has been housed since 2024.
Liz Tufte (she/they), Chair, Fort Collins' Lived Experience Advisory Council
Liz chairs Fort Collins' Lived Experience Advisory Council and has served on the NoCo CoC Project Rating and Ranking Committee for more than two years. After escaping abuse and experiencing homelessness in 2016, she found support at FoCo Cafe, where she worked for meals. An artist, designer, and organizer, Liz has led community events and advocated at City Council. She volunteers with Food Not Bombs and participates in Clothe the People, Foothills Mutual Aid, and the permaculture guild. Through local art collectives, Liz publishes zines and teaches artist-activists Risograph printing. She builds bridges toward practical, community-created systems change.
How do we shift community conversations about homelessness from polarized to productive? This session introduces content from DOLA’s newly expanded Affordable Housing Toolkit for Local Officials, providing a roadmap for effective, solutions-focused, and meaningful conversations on homelessness. Participants will explore how to bring clear framing and structural solutions to community discussions. While designed with local government leaders in mind, these communication tools are valuable for anyone looking to change the narrative.
In this session, participants will learn to foster constructive community dialogue on homelessness by using communication frameworks like Heartwired, linking personal stories to broader structural solutions. Attendees will also practice proactively structuring public engagement sessions to encourage productive community input.
Audience: Service providers, local government leaders, CoC staff
Evan Caster, Deputy Director, Colorado Department of Local Affairs, Division of Housing
Evan Caster has more than 15 years of experience leading large-scale community collaboratives focused on resolving and responding to homelessness, and housing initiatives in guiding strategic direction and funding decisions. Currently, Evan is the Deputy Director for the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, Division of Housing (DOH), overseeing the Offices of Rental Assistance and Homeless Initiatives. Prior to joining DOH, he served as the Director of Homelessness Initiatives for the Colorado Department of Human Services, leading efforts to prevent episodes of homelessness and creating strategies to support Coloradans facing housing insecurity.
Nellie Stagg, Associate Office Director, Office of Homeless Initiatives, Colorado Department of Local Affairs, Division of Housing
Nellie Stagg is the Associate Office Director for the Office of Homeless Initiatives within the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, Division of Housing (DOH). She previously served as DOH's Transformational Homelessness Response Manager, leading a team managing more than $90 million in statewide grant funds to address homelessness. Prior to joining DOH, she was the Senior Program Director at the Community Resource Center (CRC) directing statewide rural capacity-building initiatives, and worked in the Lt. Governor's Office. When not driving across Colorado, she can be found at the library, in the pottery studio, or in the community garden.
Effective homelessness response requires more than just individual program success; it needs a coordinated “problem-solving network” in order to solve its most complex challenges. Your community's problem-solving network exists already — it's just a matter of connecting it! This workshop introduces a toolkit designed to help communities map your existing collaborative structures and how information and decisions flow between system-level workgroups, case conference meetings and community leadership. This interactive workshop will help participants identify the specific information bottlenecks that currently slow down your community's ability to make system improvements.
A toolkit will be provided to attendees for future use.
Audience: Participants who are engaged in system improvement work and who want to understand how to improve the effectiveness of their community network
Lenny Pierce, Strategy Lead, Strategic Initiatives, Community Solutions
Lenny Pierce is a Strategy Lead, Strategic Initiatives at Community Solutions. In addition to helping communities visualize, analyze, and communicate their data, Lenny supports communities in their journey towards developing stronger data cultures. Prior to joining Community Solutions, he served on the Business Intelligence Services team at NeighborWorks America, a congressionally chartered affordable housing and community development nonprofit. He holds a B.S. in psychology from the University of Maryland, College Park, and an M.A. in industrial/organizational psychology from George Mason University.
For homeless service providers, behavioral health systems can feel like a black box: full of potential resources and partnerships, but confusing to navigate, slow to respond, and structured in ways that don't always make sense from the outside. This workshop changes that. Presenters bring a rare dual perspective: direct experience building and leading Colorado's Behavioral Health Administration at the state level, and the former lead for OHI's non-voucher team in administering more than $50 million in state and federal funding aimed at homelessness response. Both presenters offer current, on-the-ground work supporting homeless service providers through LIFT Academy. That combination makes this session uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between system design and provider reality.
Attendees will come away with a clear map of how the behavioral health system is organized, what levers providers can pull to access resources and influence priorities, and a practical framework for strengthening BH-housing integration at their own organizations. This presentation will cover how Colorado's behavioral health system is structured, practical strategies for braiding housing and treatment supports, how to use Motivational Interviewing and trauma-informed approaches to strengthen cross-system handoffs, and common friction points between BH and housing systems.
Audience: Transformational Homelessness Response (THR) grantees and similar providers who are already delivering housing-focused services and want to better integrate behavioral health supports; staff who do cross-system referrals and find the behavioral health (BH) system opaque or hard to partner with; and organizational leaders trying to position their organization as a credible partner to state agencies
Summer Gathercole (she/her), Managing Director, SHG Advisors
Summer Gathercole is Managing Director of SHG Advisors and has been a leader in social policy reform since 1998. She founded SHG Advisors in 2014 after a career in workforce development and public service, including serving as Executive Director of the D.C. Department of Employment Services. In 2019, she became the inaugural Deputy Commissioner of Colorado's Behavioral Health Administration, leading statewide behavioral health reform and coordinating efforts across more than a dozen state agencies. Summer returned to consulting full time in 2023, focusing on behavioral health, housing, and homelessness. She currently facilitates Colorado's Commission on Medicaid and Competency Task Force.
Cassy Westmoreland (she/her), Lead Homelessness Consultant, SHG Advisors
Cassy Westmoreland brings more than a decade of experience in housing and homelessness services and serves as a subject matter expert in rental assistance, supportive housing, and housing system design. Her experience spans the full continuum of care, from frontline shelter and outreach to community advocacy and systems leadership. Before joining SHG Advisors, she led the non-voucher team at Colorado's Office of Homeless Initiatives, administering more than $50 million in state and federal homelessness funding. Her work earned national recognition from HUD and EPA. At SHG, Cassy has supported dozens of communities in developing tailored, evidence-based homelessness strategies now being implemented.
Join the Laboratory to Combat Human Trafficking (LCHT) for a training on how human trafficking impacts individuals and families experiencing housing instability across both rural and urban Colorado. Human trafficking does not occur in isolation; it intersects with homelessness, wage theft, domestic and sexual violence, substance misuse, forced criminality, and other forms of exploitation, with traffickers often targeting people with limited, unsafe, or unstable housing options. Grounded in Colorado-specific context and real-world examples, this session will explore root causes, complex trauma, and the systemic inequities that create and sustain vulnerability to both labor and sex trafficking. Participants will examine how housing instability can be leveraged as a tool of coercive control through threats of eviction, unsafe living conditions, withheld wages, exploitative exchanges for shelter, and pressure or coercion to engage in illegal activities such as theft, drug distribution, or fraud.
Designed for professionals across the homeless response system, this training will provide practical, role-specific strategies to recognize indicators of trafficking, engage individuals using trauma-informed and survivor-centered approaches, and respond in ways that prioritize safety, autonomy, and trust. Participants will also explore how to strengthen coordinated, system-level responses, integrating prevention, identification, and intervention into programs, policies, and cross-sector partnerships throughout Colorado.
Audience: Homelessness response system professionals
Kara Napolitano, Education and Partnerships Director, Laboratory to Combat Human Trafficking
Kara is a human rights advocate and trainer. She began her career working internationally in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia and has spent the last 10 years working locally to support survivors of exploitation. She currently works for the Laboratory to Combat Human Trafficking, working alongside communities in rural and urban Colorado to build equitable and inclusive responses to human trafficking through evidence-based training and coalition building. Kara has trained more than 50,000 professionals across Colorado, equipping them to recognize and respond compassionately to labor and sex exploitation.
Communities across the country are rethinking how people enter and move through Coordinated Entry systems. As housing resources remain limited and frontline staff continue balancing high-acuity households with constant inflow, many providers are asking: how do we respond to housing crises earlier, more consistently, and in ways that are realistic for staff and clients? This session will explore how stronger “front doors” can improve outcomes across the entire homeless response system. Using a phased approach to Coordinated Entry, presenters will discuss how early housing-focused conversations and problem solving may help households resolve crises more quickly, reduce unnecessary movement deeper into the system, and create more structure and consistency across access points.
Designed specifically for direct service providers, this session will focus on practical approaches and implementation considerations rather than a one-size-fits-all model. Participants will explore how to integrate problem solving into existing workflows, communicate transparently with clients without creating false hope, balance staff time across high-needs households and inflow, and define realistic expectations for agencies with different capacities and roles.
Audience: Direct service providers
Jenn Barnett, Researcher and Program Evaluator, Apex Consultant Group
Jenn Barnett is a researcher and program evaluator and the founder of Apex Consultant Group, a research and evaluation practice serving homelessness response systems, and of the Homelessness Response Lab, its public research arm. Based in Northern Colorado, she previously served as HMIS System Improvement Manager for the Northern Colorado Continuum of Care and helped develop the Housing Problem Solving framework for that CoC. She holds an M.A. in Sociology and is pursuing a PhD in Applied Statistics and Research Methods at the University of Northern Colorado. She works with CoCs and providers on system design and evaluation. Her current research asks whether the Point-in-Time count can be made diagnostic rather than merely enumerative, including how definitional choices shape who becomes visible in the count, particularly youth, and what statistical approaches can improve estimates of populations not captured in HMIS.
Homeward Pikes Peak proposes an innovative solution to activate community members to be part of a compassionate solution to resolve homelessness one person at a time. HPP has created a web-based street outreach services tool that neighbors can use to submit a request for service for someone experiencing homelessness rather than engaging law enforcement. The tool is customizable for any community and can be created to increase the response time of outreach services and increase effectiveness of these efforts. Homeward Pikes Peak will share how we utilized stakeholder input from the fire department, police department, the Pikes Peak CoC, and City of Colorado Springs before embarking on the program. One of our key goals is to decrease the burden to law enforcement and increase the outcomes for people experiencing homelessness.
Audience: Community members, CoCs, nonprofit organizations, municipal government, county government, direct service providers
Beth Hall Roalstad, MSW, CEO, Homeward Pikes Peak
Beth became the CEO in January 2017. She has nineteen years of nonprofit management and leadership of community based human service organizations. Prior to taking this role, Beth was the Senior Vice President of Engagement at Pikes Peak United Way. She has also been the Executive Director for the Innovations in Aging Collaborative and the Women's Resource Agency. Beth received her Master of Social Work from the University of Denver in 2000 and a Bachelor of Science in Political Science from State University of New York College at Oneonta. She is a graduate of the Colorado Springs Leadership Institute in 2014.
Steve Wayant, LCSW, Director of Street Outreach, Homeward Pikes Peak
Steve joined Homeward Pikes Peak in 2020. Steve earned a B.A. in Sociology along with an M.A. in Criminal Justice. After completing his undergraduate degree, he worked with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services for nine years in Child Welfare and Juvenile Probation/Parole. Steve exited the social service field for 23 years. After early retirement, he went back to school and completed his Master of Social Work in 2021. Since that time, he has worked for Homeward Pikes Peak and is currently an LCSW and employed as the Director of Street Outreach Programs.
Aimee Cox, Chief Housing and Homelessness Officer, City of Colorado Springs
Aimee Cox currently serves as Chief Housing and Homelessness Officer for the Housing and Homelessness Response Department at the City of Colorado Springs, bringing extensive experience in community development, cross-sector collaboration, and improving outcomes for underserved populations. Previously, she served as a Senior Advisor at National Healthcare & Housing Advisors. Earlier in her career, she was Chief Impact and Strategy Officer for the San Diego Continuum of Care and CEO of the Community Health Partnership in Colorado Springs, where she led efforts to expand access to health care and address complex community challenges, including opioid use and homelessness, through collaborative, systems-level approaches. Aimee's career reflects a sustained commitment to community service and to advancing solutions for housing instability and the social determinants of health.
Pat Rigdon, Director of Downtown Environment, Downtown Partnership of Colorado Springs
Pat Rigdon is a native of Colorado Springs, graduating from Palmer High School. In 2022, he retired as the Deputy Chief of the Colorado Springs Police Department after 31 years in law enforcement. In July 2022, he and his wife then opened Mary's Mountain Cookies in Downtown Colorado Springs. They jointly ran and operated the business until they sold it in January 2025. Pat joined the staff of the Downtown Partnership in June 2025 as the Director of Downtown Environment. In that role, he has been tasked with planning and implementing a Clean & Safe Pilot Program, designed to make Downtown a cleaner, safer, and more welcoming place for visitors, merchants, and residents. This program includes enhanced security presence, hospitality-oriented Ambassadors, and dedicated homeless outreach. He also oversees the contracts for landscaping and maintenance of the public spaces downtown.
Starting in January 2025, Boulder County Homeless Response System partnered with Workforce Boulder County to connect people experiencing homelessness to tailored workforce training and support. All Roads and HOPE for Longmont developed a program to help unhoused populations access employment, upskilling, and career pathways. This presentation will highlight strategies for engaging local workforce services, cross-training efforts, role identification, successes, challenges, adaptability, and collaboration across systems.
Audience: Anyone wanting to learn more about workforce collaboration to address the needs of people who are unhoused
Heidi Grove, M.A., Division Manager of Homeless Systems and Coordinated Response, Boulder County Housing Department
Heidi Grove is Division Manager of Homeless Systems and Coordinated Response at Boulder County Housing Department. With more than 20 years' experience in multi-modality systems across private, nonprofit, and government sectors, she has worked with a variety of populations including youth, adult offenders, legal counsel, probation officers, social services, educators, lawmakers, and behavioral health professionals. Her expertise spans research design, evaluation, data analysis, and reporting, and she understands the complexities surrounding intersectional justice, child welfare, mental health, education, environmental factors, and family systems.
Spencer Downing, Chief Shelter Program Officer, All Roads
Spencer Downing has spent two decades in leadership roles working on behalf of individuals experiencing homelessness, first in LA's skid row and for the past five years in Boulder. Spencer's current role as Chief Shelter Program Officer with All Roads, overseeing a 180-bed emergency shelter and navigation center, allows him to use his vast experience to maximize efforts to leverage emergency day and evening services and turn them into sustainable exits from homelessness. This occurs in partnership with the Boulder County homeless response system and a large network of provider partnerships. His recent work overseeing a rapid approach to encouraging earned income exits from a congregate shelter setting in a time of fewer housing resources for the unhoused is particularly exciting.
Ben Rietema, Earned Income Program Case Manager, All Roads
Ben Rietema has worked at All Roads for nine years and held multiple roles from program staff to property manager to hospital liaison. In conjunction with Spencer Downing, he began the All Roads Works program to house clients through earned income.
Janeth Barocio, Housing Navigation, HOPE
Janeth Barocio is a housing navigation case manager that has been with HOPE for more than six years serving Longmont and Boulder County. HOPE is one of two access points for coordinated entry granting access to shelter and providing a multitude of resources for the unhoused community including community outreach and case management. Janeth is passionate about helping the individuals she serves regain stability in their lives.
Kelly Strong, Community Educator and Trainer, Workforce Boulder County
Kelly Strong is a dynamic workforce development professional with a rich background in project management, instructional design, and professional learning facilitation. With experience spanning workforce development, education, and curriculum design, Kelly has a proven track record of leading impactful workshops, coaching professionals, and fostering career growth. As a Community Educator at Workforce Boulder County, she facilitates high-impact learning experiences for job seekers and actively engages in state and national workforce development initiatives. A skilled speaker and leader, Kelly is passionate about empowering individuals and organizations with the mindset and skills needed to thrive in the evolving world of work.
Claire Benton, M.A., Community Educator and Career Coach, Workforce Boulder County
Claire Benton is a Community Educator and Career Coach with Workforce Boulder County, where she designs and delivers career development programming for clients navigating employment transitions. Her career began as an Emergency Services Advocate, providing crisis intervention, shelter screening, and case management for individuals facing housing instability. That trauma-informed, strengths-based approach continues to shape her work today. Claire holds a master's degree in Counseling Psychology and is passionate about empowerment, adaptability, and meeting people where they are.
What does it look like for healthcare providers to collaborate and integrate with homeless and housing services providers? In this session, UCHealth's Housing Transitions Team will share case studies and success stories, address privacy and HIPAA allowances, and explore opportunities for further collaboration between local hospitals and healthcare teams and community agencies. Participants will examine HIPAA and HMIS policies surrounding cross-agency data sharing, explore the benefits of collaborating with healthcare providers, and evaluate internal practices that support integrated care. Includes UCHealth HTT case studies and group discussion.
Audience: Healthcare providers, direct service providers, CoC staff, city and local governments
Alex Washburn, LCSW (they/them), Program Coordinator, UCHealth Housing Transitions Team
Alex Washburn is a medical social worker and Program Coordinator for UCHealth's Housing Transitions Team. They have been working in community health for more than a decade and have a passion for supporting individuals from marginalized communities in accessing equitable and trauma-responsive healthcare. As their team's resident “tech wizard,” they also enjoy using data and technology to improve communication, collaboration, and care in social services delivery. In their spare time, they like to read, make things with their hands, and spend time with their deaf rescue dog, Boo.
This session provides a comprehensive overview of statewide resources and strategic initiatives serving Colorado veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Using recent successes as a roadmap, speakers will examine key challenges and actionable strategies for driving systemic change. Highlighted in this session is the Pikes Peak region's breakthrough progress: due to increased collaboration and aligned efforts among veteran agencies, active veteran homelessness dropped 53% from 369 to 174, surpassing the 50% veteran homelessness reduction target nearly a year ahead of schedule. Attendees will explore how earlier community intervention and expanded permanent supportive housing capacity are fundamentally changing the trajectory of veteran homelessness in Colorado Springs.
Audience: New service providers and providers wanting to learn more about breakthroughs in the Pikes Peak region
Missy Mish, Section Chief, Homeless Programs, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Missy Mish is the Section Chief for Homeless Programs at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Michelle Lapidow, HUD VASH Coordinator, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Michelle Lapidow is the HUD VASH Coordinator at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Angela Roberts, Transformation Manager of Homeless Initiatives, ChangeLine
Angela is the Transformation Manager for Homeless Initiatives at ChangeLine, where she has partnered with the Pikes Peak Continuum of Care to expand cross-sector collaboration and strengthen the region's homeless response system. She holds a bachelor's degree in sociology from the University of North Texas and a master's in public administration, with a certificate in Grant Writing, Grant Management, and Program Evaluation, from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. Since 2010, Angela has volunteered and interned with nonprofits across Colorado Springs, driven by a lasting passion for serving community members in need of housing support.
Keoni Gabbert, Peer Support Specialist, Homeless Programs, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Keoni Gabbert is the Peer Support Specialist of Homeless Programs at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
This breakout session will demonstrate how the needs and care for seniors experiencing homelessness are different. This session will highlight that seniors are the fastest growing population of people experiencing homelessness and how they experience homelessness differently. Some examples of this are housing types, healthcare, and how they access information through technology. The goal is for participants to gain a better understanding of how to holistically work alongside seniors experiencing homelessness.
Audience: Direct service providers that work with seniors
Tressa Nawyn, Co-Director of Case Management, Senior Support Services
Tressa enjoys helping connect older adults with resources such as housing, healthcare, benefits, and other community services. She is passionate about advocating for older adults and helping create a welcoming, supportive environment where they can thrive. For Tressa, one of the most rewarding parts of the job is seeing the Senior Support Services members feel supported and improve their quality of life.
Chidi Ihekweazu, Co-Director of Case Management, Senior Support Services
Chidi is dedicated to meeting the psychological, economic and social needs of our community's most vulnerable and underrepresented populations. He is also passionate about creating safe spaces for older adults experiencing homelessness, as well as advocating for the humane treatment of all. Chidi enjoys anything to do with exploring the outdoors.
Closing remarks and appreciations.
Audience: All forum participants
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