Study shows Denver is a national model for helping the homeless

by Kimberly Gunning

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released a study naming Denver as a national model for helping the homeless. The study focused on the homeless’ access to mainstream services and how cities have responded to the housing over services policy shift by the HUD in 2000.

The study found Denver’s Road Home to be “a strong mechanism for expanding, changing and smoothing access to mainstream benefits, with its ability to raise funds in the private sector, bring the provider community together, and advocate for policy changes.”

The data was collected for the study before the financial recession in 2008, so not all programs studied are still running today.

The 287-page study was released on March 25 and listed six other cities as models, including: Albany, N.Y.; Albuquerque; Miami-Dade County, Fla.; Norfolk, Va.; Portland, Maine; and Pittsburgh-Allegheny County, Pa.