On Thursday, May 27, Governor Polis and the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) announced that the national initiative known as Built for Zero has certified Fremont County, Colorado as the 12th community in the country to functionally end veteran homelessness.
“Ensuring those who have worked in service to this country have access to safe and secure housing is one of the most important things we can do, and I am pleased to see Fremont [County] leading the way in what we hope will become the new standard in our state,” said Governor Jared Polis. “We owe it to our veterans to ensure they too can build back stronger along with the rest of Colorado.”
“Functional Zero for Veteran Homelessness” means that a community knows every veteran experiencing homelessness by name. It also means that that community has demonstrated the ability to ensure that fewer veterans are experiencing homelessness than can be routinely housed.
Image Courtesy of Fremont County.
Built for Zero is a national initiative of 80 cities and counties that have committed to measurably ending homelessness one population at a time, led by the nonprofit Community Solutions.
A team of seven community partners in Fremont County worked together with Community Solutions, the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA), and various state agencies and nonprofit partners to transform their local homeless response system and achieve Functional Zero. The group is now focusing on sustaining this status, and expanding the results.
Fremont County’s use of real-time, person-specific data to coordinate resources and connect those in crisis with the supports they need to quickly exit homelessness originates from the Making Homelessness History Playbook. This approach is central to efforts led by DOLA.
The Colorado Office of Homeless Initiatives (OHI) was designed in cooperation with the Colorado Department of Human Services and Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing in order to create a future where every Coloradan has a safe, stable, and affordable place to live.
An event commemorating the Functional Zero benchmark took place on May 27 at Mountain View Community Church in Cañon City, where DOLA Executive Director Rick M. Garcia made the announcement.
“This milestone brings Colorado one step closer to a future where homelessness is rare and brief, and no one gets left behind,” said Garcia. “DOLA is proud to work with our state agency and federal partners, the community team in Fremont County, and our Built for Zero: Colorado partners including Kaiser Permanente, Community Solutions and the Colorado Health Foundation, to support and sustain Fremont County’s success. We are hopeful that this achievement will inspire other communities to adopt a similar approach, and build on these efforts for the benefit of everyone experiencing chronic homelessness.”
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