Act with Urgency - Start with Equity

Finding Successful Solutions to Homelessness & Housing Instability is Urgent

The LEAG emphasizes that the work to end homelessness is a matter of life and death. People experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity face daily safety, health, and well-being concerns which can create lasting and painful trauma. In fact, individuals experiencing homelessness can lose nearly 30 years from their life expectancy simply because of their lack of adequate housing.

“Look at how many people die within city limits each winter.”

The LEAG recognizes and celebrates existing ESG programs that promote effective programming. At the same time, the group is dedicated to identifying gaps and making improvements that protect, improve, and prioritize the lives of those who are unhoused, unsafe, or unsheltered. Since ESG is one of the largest programs designed to address homelessness specifically, the LEAG emphasizes the importance of utilizing ESG to immediately implement local, collaborative solutions, especially for capacity building in communities that lack adequate services to meet local needs.

Start with a Focus on Equity

Equity is the primary focus for DOH’s ESG improvement effort. Throughout their feedback sessions, LEAG members shared their experiences of inequitable actions taken against them while engaging in street outreach programs, seeking shelter, or searching for housing. They identified a lack of accountability for program staff and agency leadership where these actions occurred, as well as the challenges they face seeking justice for their trauma within such complex systems. The growing impacts of this inequitable homelessness response system include economic disparity, racial inequality, disparate criminal justice involvement, and other consequences that punish those in poverty and perpetuate life-threatening, long-term health impacts. Colorado must also address inequitable outcomes created through the disproportionate distribution of resources throughout the state, especially in rural communities. Addressing equity in Colorado must include supporting under-resourced communities who may need increased technical and financial assistance to implement the recommendations outlined in this report.

“Leaders and systems have failed to ensure safety, security, stability, and sanctuary in community for all, but instead created a system of criminalization, discrimination, stigma, and extreme marginalization.”

DOH’s ESG program must invest in organizations and leadership strategies that prevent the trauma of homelessness and create equitable access to immediate, effective, and successful housing services.