March 22 Program Recap

Last Wednesday, Michele Christensen, Director of Program Development at Housing Catalyst, and Zachary Penland, Program Manager for the Redtail Ponds Permanent Supportive Housing program discussed homelessness data and overviewed permanent supportive housing (PSH), considered a best practice solution to homelessness.   Housing Catalyst is the former Fort Collins Housing Authority.  Redtail Ponds, developed and managed by Housing Catalyst, is Northern Colorado’s first Permanent Supportive Housing community, offering 60 apartments for people with disabilities who have experienced homelessness. 

According to their presentation, Permanent Supportive Housing involves long-term, affordable housing in combination with supportive services.  Redtail Ponds has 60 units, with 15 reserved for veterans, and service partnerships with the Veterans Administration, SummitStone Health Partners, and Catholic Charities.  They also provide classes and incidental support through the CSU Extension services (Food Nutrition classes), Four Square Pharmacy, Prevent Unwanted Pets (PUP), Spirit Crossing, Front Range CC (Art Classes), Interim Healthcare, Health District of Northern Larimer County, Hospice, Great Clips, InnovAge, Dedicated Navigators, VITA  (tax service), Mindfulness Group, Goodwill Career Connections, Blujay Wireless, and Meals on Wheels. 

Redtail currently has 83 residents including 30 veterans and 16 women.  Over the past two years, 22 residents have enrolled in employment training, and 12 have rejoined the workforce.  In response to a question on economics, they noted that similar programs in other communities have documented savings of between $5,000 and $50,000 per resident per year vs. doing nothing, primarily due to reduced emergency room and hospital care, reduced housing-in-jail solutions, reduced police and first responder time and expenses, and various other community costs.