HOMEWARD ALLIANCE INC

Employment and resource navigation (earn):(formerly listed as dedicated navigator) resource navigators (a) provide task-oriented services, including document acquisition assistance (e.g. Birth certificates), benefits enrollment, and employment-search assistance, (b) divert people out of homelessness at intake (e.g. Rent assistance) or reunify them with friends/family who have stable housing, and (c) serve as the largest intake point for the northern colorado continuum of care's coordinated entry system-the primary system through which people escape chronic homelessness in larimer and weld counties. Resource navigators operate at multiple locations in larimer county. In 2024, the program served 2,400 individuals, enrolled/referred individuals in/to over 2,100 other programs, helped 293 participants obtain or retain employment, helped 103 individuals escape homelessness via diversion/reunification, and helped participants secure about 835,000 in annual public benefits.

Re-entry: we provide intensive, employment-and-housing-focused case management to people on parole who have been identified by the department of corrections as medium- to high-risk of recidivism. The program is funded by the state of colorados work and gain employment and education skills (wagees) program; wagees funds a statewide network of agencies that use shared practices to provide similar servicesin collaboration with parole to people on parole. The program serves about 100 participants per year. In 2024, fewer than 7% of program participants recidivated (returned to prison). More than 53% of program participants obtained job-training certifications/credentials, and about 63% retained employment for at least 90 days. Family services (formerly listed as family housing and family resources, now combined): we provide a range of short- and long-term services to families who are homeless or at-risk of homelessness: (a) regular family resource fairs, through which we and other organizations provide a range of services/information to families, (b) clothing/hygiene closet for families, known as family resource connection, that can be accessed by other services providers 24/7 (or by appointment for families), (c) rent/security deposit assistance for families escaping or avoiding homelessness, (d) bilingual resource navigation, comprised of housing navigation and task-oriented assistance similar to that of homeward alliances resource navigation and housing navigation programs, but catered to families. In 2024, we helped 59 families avoid homelessness and 68 escape homelessness. We served 954 families at the closet or at family resource fairs. Hmis: homeward alliance is the homeless management information system (hmis) lead agency for the northern colorado continuum of care. Through this role, we oversee the data systems for more than 20 agencies across larimer and weld counties. Most agencies that receive federal or state funding to serve people who are homeless are required to use hmis. We submit all required federal and state reports, ensure data quality across the region, and ensure that the system (a) is compliant and makes possible millions of dollars per year in grant funding across the region and (b) works on a day-to-day basis as a means of collaboration/coordination across agencies, reduce duplication, and improve client care. Bike repair: we hold bike repair/maintenance clinics to (a) ensure that people who are homelessmany who utilize bicycles as their primary means of transportationhave safe and reliable bicycles and (b) build relationships with and help those same individuals connect to other community-based resources. In 2024, the all-volunteer bike repair team held 23 bike repair clinics at the murphy center, mobile home parks, and other key community locations; they served 345 individuals and distributed 63 new or refurbished bicycles. The team volunteered 555 cumulative hours. Mobile laundry: we operate a mobile laundry vehicle, equipped with six washers and six dryers, that visits key community locations and completes loads of laundry for homeless and low-income individuals and families. The all-volunteer team is active (and at different locations) on most weekdays. In 2024, the team completed more than 4,800 loads of laundry and served about 1,600 individuals. Volunteers contributed approximately 3,000 hours. Technical services: homeward alliance provides technical servicesstrategic planning, database management, content expertiseto communities and nonprofits seeking to improve their efforts to address homelessness. In 2024, this included several initiatives: (1) we are the hmis lead agency, or data lead, for the northern colorado continuum of care (noco coc). In that role, we oversee the shared database for all agencies that serve people who are homeless in larimer and weld counties, (2) through september 2024 (at the end of a three-year contract), we served as the lead agency for the strategic response to homeless in loveland. In that capacity, we provided technical expertise to the city of loveland (staff, political leaders and community) and strategic planning and development support for nonprofits that serve people who are homeless in loveland, and (3) we formed a task force and selected a consulting firm to lead the development of a strategic plan to address homelessness in larimer county.