Denver Mayor Michael Hancock’s proposed budget for 2022 includes an investment of nearly $230 million in local and federal dollars to support affordable housing and efforts to combat homelessness. The mayor’s budget proposal was released the same day that one of the city's largest homeless encampments at Civic Center Park was removed and its residents displaced.
Mayor Hancock’s proposed investments in affordable housing include $31.9 million in projected revenues for Denver’s dedicated Affordable Housing Fund and an additional $1.7 million in state funding to support a new Affordable Housing Development Team to prioritize affordable housing projects for permit review and approval. The budget estimates that these investments would create or preserve 900 affordable homes next year, many of which would be targeted to those with the lowest incomes. In addition, Mayor Hancock has proposed to dedicate an additional $28 million from federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds into the Affordable Housing Fund.
While Mayor Hancock’s administration has been clearing homeless encampments at a much faster rate than the previous year – by July 1, 2021, Denver had conducted more encampment sweeps than in all of 2020 – the budget does specifically address individuals living in “unsanctioned encampments.” The proposed budget includes $2.8 million for outreach workers and $200,000 for public health investigators, citing health and safety risks. The proposed general fund budget includes $1 million for non-congregate motel vouchers for emergency responders to provide to people leaving jail without a place to stay and to people who are unsheltered. The mayor is also proposing to use more than $20 million from the city’s ARPA allocation to improve and increase the capacity of traditional shelters, and to support alternatives to shelter.
This is the first budget to put funding into the new Homelessness Resolution Fund passed by voters in November 2020 as ballot Measure 2B. The fund is expected to generate $40.9 million in 2022 for investments into housing supports and services, shelter, and additional services. In addition, Mayor Hancock has proposed $28.5 million of city funds and $21 million from ARPA funds dedicated to support people experiencing an episode of homelessness. Finally, the mayor proposes to contribute $900,000 from its 2022 budget, along with a significant grant from the federal Social Impact Partnerships to Pay for Results Act (SIPPRA), to support the Denver Housing to Health (H2H) Program.
“We strongly support the investments proposed by the mayor’s budget to address the increase in homelessness in the Denver area,” says Cathy Alderman, chief communications and public policy officer of Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, an NLIHC state partner. “By focusing on housing, outreach, and services, Denver can do far more to address homelessness than merely moving people around through enforcement of the unproductive camping ban.”
The city council will vote on the final budget in November.