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Douglas County Homeless Initiative

January 8, 2026 ·9:00 AM Final

BOCC Hearing Room, Conference Rooms A & B

Agenda PDF Minutes PDF Official record ↗

Agenda — 19 items

  1. 1. Welcome & Introductions: Commissioner Laydon
  2. 2. 2025 Year in Review
  3. 3. Communications: February HEART Giving Campaign
  4. 4. Legal Update
  5. 5. A/D Works! Homeless Veteran Reintegration Program (HVRP) Overview
  6. 6. 2026 January Point in Time
  7. 7. Public Comment
  8. 8. Closing Comments: Commissioner Laydon
  9. 9 In-Person Attendees: Allison Cutting, Alyssa DeJesus, Andrea Barnum, Caroline Frizell, Darren Weekly, Ellie Reynolds, Erin White, Greg Matthews, Jason Gray, Jeff Garcia, Jennifer Eby, Kevin Trepanier, Kirsten Swanson, Laura Ciancone, Luke Ward, Maria Ciano, Max Brooks, Melody D’Haillecourt, Mike McIntosh, Mike Polhemus, Nick Adamson, Rand Clark, Ruby Richards, Sasha Easton, Sasha Larson, Scott Nelson, Stephanie Dorrell, Steven Dodrill, Tiffany Marsitto Online Participants: 22 (list is available upon request)
  10. 1. Welcome & Introductions: Jennifer Eby
  11. 2. 2025 Year in Review: Tiffany Marsitto, Community Services Supervisor: The January 2025 Winter Point in Time (PIT) results indicated that 58 individuals were unhoused in Douglas County. Of those 58, 22 were sleeping in their vehicles, six were sleeping outside, and 30 were sheltered. The July 2025 Summer Point in Time indicated that 72 individuals were unhoused in Douglas County. Of those 72, 25 were sleeping in their cars, four were sleeping outside, and 43 were sheltered. The December 2025 internal By Name List showed that 32 individuals were unhoused in Douglas County. Of those 32, nine were sleeping in their vehicles, two were sleeping outside, and 21 were sheltered. HEART increased business engagements to 184 businesses and obtained trespass letters to cover 108 locations. HEART completed 17 community presentations, attended five resource fairs, and attended four in-person regional events. In 2025, HEART received a total of 1,352 referrals, 367 phone calls, 279 incoming text messages which resulted in 101 text conversations. HEART made 1,501 proactive outreach contacts in 2025. The cumulation of these efforts resulted in 309 new client enrollments and exited 327 clients of which some had rolled over from 2024. HEART received 75 panhandling calls and had zero encampments of more than one tent in 2025. HEART provided 3,241 services in 2025 including case management, employment referrals, food assistance, motel vouchers, transportation, housing resources, mental/behavioral health support, and shelter referrals. The 2025 exit outcomes included placing 60 clients in permanent housing, 79 clients in temporary housing, and provided emergency shelter for 76 clients. The 2026 goals include maintaining Functional Zero for Veterans and establishing Functional Zero for families. HEART will continue integrating mental and behavioral health services with CRT and PATH teams, identifying ongoing fundraising for HEART and homeless services, continuing to expand business engagements and increasing partnerships across the region. Steven Dodrill, Community Programs Administrator: The Douglas County Generational Opportunities to Achieve Long-Term Success (GOALS) Program launched in December of 2024 and through November of 2025, the program provided shelter to 16 households or 63 individuals and provided 5,180 shelter nights. Nine families have exited the GOALS program and of those nine families, seven exited to stable housing, one left out of county into a hotel, and one left with no contact. The Domestic Violence safehouse launched in August of 2025. Since then, it has served 13 families with five currently at the safehouse, four moved into permanent housing, one moved to transitional housing and three who chose not to return. In addition, TESSA provided support to four families who met the criteria for shelter but declined safehouse placement demonstrating flexible solutions to domestic violence survivors. In 2025, the Housing Stability Program (HSP), the county’s homeless prevention program, provided $72,800 in eviction prevention assistance to eight families equaling 22 individuals. Our community partners provided 60 hours of case management, and every participant engaged in employment services and personal financial planning. Jennifer Eby, Director of Community Services: The Aurora Regional Navigation Campus (ARNC) opened on November 17, 2025. The ARNC offers a three-tiered program. Tier one is emergency shelter and has 285 beds, tier two is semi-private pods with 114 beds, and tier three is a transitional housing program with 10 rooms completed as of December 15, 2025. The ARNC offers 20+ community partners to offer onsite services to participants. The Douglas Has Heart Campaign received a total of $7,500 in donations in 2025. The total donations to date equals $16,100, and the overall funds distributed equals $15,000. Greg Matthews, Clinical HEART Navigator: A 2025 HEART success story from Greg Matthews, Clinical HEART Navigator, began in September 2022. HEART Navigators engaged with a male individual who had been unhoused in the community for several years. After leaving the area, he returned in August 2025 and was found by Castle Rock Police Department (CRPD) sleeping under a bridge. They observed the male had significant health challenges and remaining outdoors posed a substantial risk to his well-being. They referred the male to the HEART and Navigator Greg Matthews quickly assessed the situation. Greg referred him to the Douglas County Care Compact, which facilitated multiple connections to medical and mental health providers. The male was enrolled in health benefits and provided motel vouchers while the team coordinated placement in a short-term facility that could meet his immediate medical needs. Although he struggles with being indoors for extended periods, he recognizes the importance of receiving ongoing treatment for his condition. The collaboration with CRPD, the Mental Health Collaborative, faith-based and nonprofit partners were all critical in the safety and success of this individual. His supports will remain in place until a more permanent assisted living placement can be secured.
  12. 3. Communications Update – February HEART Giving Campaign: Caroline Frizzel, Director, Communications and Public Affairs: The HEART fundraising campaign begins January 26-30, 2026. During this timeframe, materials will be distributed to businesses, news articles will be published, and the digital campaign will be launched. The campaign will begin February 2, 2026, and run through March 1, 2026. From March 2-6, 2026, a post-campaign review will be conducted, and the final campaign results will be presented to the Douglas County Homeless Initiative (DCHI) Executive Committee on March 12, 2026.
  13. 4. Legal Update: Jeff Garcia, County Attorney: The Retail Theft Ordinance is pending with the goal to change public expectations, encourage community collaboration, support law enforcement, and demonstrate Douglas County’s law enforcement responds to calls of theft. Parking restrictions were instituted in communities that want to participate to help those who are residing out of their vehicles get the resources they need. Douglas County continues to cooperate with the Federal Government Executive Orders in 2025 and has a long record of doing so. This has allowed Douglas County to remain eligible for HUD and DOJ funding. Darren Weekly, Douglas County Sherriff: The Retail Theft Community Meeting was a success and very productive. It was reinforced that Douglas County will respond to these calls for service in collaboration with other municipalities, not to be punitive, but to support our local businesses.
  14. 5. A/D Works! Homeless Veteran Reintegration Program (HVRP) Overview Sasha Larson, Workforce Programs Manager: A/D Works! has three primary workforce center locations: one in Aurora, one in Castle Rock, and one in Centennial. Clients can access all programs either in person or virtually. The specialized services to Veteran’s include Priority of Service for first access to programs, One on One Assistance with Employment Services, Disabled Veteran Outreach Specialists (DVOP), and various Veteran specific events. In July of 2025, A/D Works! was awarded the federal grant for The Homeless Veteran Reintegration Program (HVRP). The grant is funded over a three-year period. HVRP is an employment-focused program that provides Veteran’s experiencing homelessness with the training and tools to gain employment/careers that lead to stability. Eligibility requirements include any of the following: must be a Veteran as defined in 38 U.S.C. 101(2) who’s experiencing homelessness, who’s recently found housing within 60 days prior to enrollment, who’s at risk of homelessness, who’s participating in a qualifying partner service such as SNAP, TANF, HUD-VASH, SSVF, etc., who’s transitioning from a penal institution or long-term care mental health facility, who’s fleeing or experiencing domestic violence, who’s a homeless woman Veteran, or a homeless Veteran with children. The HVRP program services include Veteran focused Individual Employment Plan (IEP), case management, assessment, job search assistance and placement, a range of supportive services, resource navigation and connection, occupational training for in-demand industries, work-based learning such as internships or on the job training, job retention and follow up. A/D Works! offers Veterans and civilian clients the following services: career exploration, labor market information, career assessments, job readiness workshops, resume preparation, mock interviewing, GED attainment, digital literacy, specialized services, hiring events, job fairs, networking sessions, talent marketability, and resource center tools. To connect qualifying Veterans to the HVRP program or other services call (303) 636-1160, email: adworksinfo@arapahoegov.com, or visit their website at www.adworks.org
  15. 6. 2026 January Point in Time: Tiffany Marsitto, Community Services Supervisor: The 2026 Winter PIT is scheduled for January 26, 2026. The PIT count is required by HUD and is in coordination with the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative. The count is a snapshot of those experiencing homelessness in the Metro Denver area on a given night. Having an accurate count helps us understand the demographics and needs of those experiencing homelessness and to create solutions to address homelessness. It raises public awareness, promotes collaboration across the region, provides needed demographic and survey data, and helps the county apply for increased housing funds. As reviewed previously, the 2025 Winter PIT on January 27, 2025, surveyed 58 people who reported unsheltered homelessness (30 individuals were in shelter, 22 were sleeping in their vehicles, six were sleeping outside). The 2025 Summer PIT on July 28, 2025, surveyed 72 people who reported unsheltered homelessness (43 individuals were in shelter, 25 individuals were sleeping in their vehicles, and four individuals were sleeping outside). The Strive to Thrive Resource Fairs are held in coordination with the Winter and Summer PIT counts. The 2026 Winter Strive to Thrive is on January 27, 2026.
  16. 7. Executive Committee Comments: Max Brooks, Castle Rock Town Council: Congratulations on the PIT count numbers and glad to be a part of the collaboration of the Initiative. Castle Rock has created a palm card for their staff to help connect unhoused individuals they encounter to HEART and additional resources. Ellie Reynolds, Douglas County Economic Development Corporation (EDC): The 2026 Goals for the EDC include continuing to integrate HEART presentations into large business community events, such as the Annual Breakfast. The business community wishes to thank Commissioner Laydon and the work of Jeff Garcia, County Attorney, for the legislation and policy changes they passed in 2025. The EDC will help with the February HEART fundraising campaign and include all the local chambers in an effort to engage smaller businesses. Ruby Richards, Human Services Department: The State of Colorado received a letter confirming that federal funding for Human Services programs will receive cuts to Social Services Block Grant (SSBG), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and Child Care Assistance Programming (CCAP). There are 596 children in Douglas County that receive CCAP assistance, and this funding cut will impact 633 Douglas County families. There are an additional 544 children on a waitlist, as new funding for this program has been frozen since 2024. In addition, there are 324 childcare providers that receive CCAP funding that will be impacted by these cuts. The total dollar amount of this funding gap can be determined within a few days to help determine what private funding or fundraising opportunities are needed. The State has notified providers that the 2026 first quarter drawdowns for TANF and the SSBG have already been processed and are uncertain if that payment will be revoked or not. For now, the State is advising partners and clients to proceed as usual with benefit applications until they receive further notification of changes. Douglas County does their utmost to prevent benefit fraud from occurring with many federal and state checks and balances on each application level and internal county audits are conducted after clients have applied. The fraud rate in Douglas County is approximately less than .03%. Jennifer Eby, Department of Community Services: The County is in the final stages of completing legislation for the 2025 Tax Credit for Child Care providers and hopes to offer some additional relief to these businesses. Sasha Easton, A/D Works!: A virtual Youth Employment Law Workshop is scheduled for January 27, 2026, at 10:00a.m. A virtual job fair is scheduled for January 27, 2026. Registrations are available on their website. A/D Works! will be participating in the 23rd Judicial Services Juvenile Planning Committee. Maria Ciano, Douglas County Housing Partnership (DCHP): DCHP has a housing navigator available to help people navigate these potential upcoming funding challenges. DCHP will begin their Strategic and Community Planning in 2026 and will be reaching out to stakeholders and the community for feedback in the coming months.
  17. 8. Public Comment: Kevin Trepanier, Resident: Thank you for all the work you’ve done and would like to get more involved in these efforts. How is the county thinking about scaling low barrier housing first option so that when outreach teams encounter someone who’s willing to accept help, there’s consistently a warm dignified place to bring them regardless of sobriety status? Are there volunteer opportunities for community members with design systems or business backgrounds to support longer term capacity and sustainability thinking? Jennifer Eby, Department of Community Services: Thank you for your questions and willingness to engage with us on this topic. When it comes to housing, it’s a complicated answer but some of the resources we have in place include the GOALS program. This is a transitional housing opportunity for stabilization and resource navigation. The HEART does a great job connecting people to available housing programs including VASH and SBBF for Veterans. Douglas County also works closely with the DCHP to help increase the number of affordable housing units for the extremely low-level income residents at 30% Area Median Income (AMI). Sasha Easton, A/D Works!: A/D Works! works with local businesses to connect and match their abilities and needs to the community. Maria Ciano, DCHP: With the increased demand for affordable housing units, DCHP would like to include interested community members that want to be involved in planning and engaging to contribute to the solution.
  18. 9. Closing Comments: Jennifer Eby
  19. 19 The next meeting will be on March 12, 2026.