Affordable housing challenges in Arapahoe County

BY FREDA MIKLIN GOVERNMENTAL REPORTER

In a perfect world or even a somewhat-more-perfect world, most would agree that motels are not the best places to call home. Recent discussions in the community about the Greenwood Village law that prohibits guests from staying in GV hotels and motels for more than 29 days in a sixty-day consecutive period, enacted in 2014 by the GV city council to prevent citizens from using its hotels and motels as their residence, have led to larger discussions about homelessness in general and homelessness in our area. The Villager circled back with Arapahoe County human services staff to find out what happened to the affected hotel guests in those GV motels after that law went into effect six years ago and what services are available to families with critical housing needs today.

Linda Haley, senior resources manager for Arapahoe County, told us that her department can sometimes provide assistance to or connect needy Arapahoe County residents with non-profit organizations, who can help them with temporary housing and/ or the necessary up-front costs and deposits associated with moving into an apartment. (Arapahoe County’s human services agency provided Sue Sanders, a homeless person who we wrote about in The Villager on April 30, with a voucher for a 9-day stay at the Motel 6 at 9201 E. Arapahoe Road in Greenwood Village in March. The funds for that voucher came from the non-profit Arapahoe Foundation). Haley explained that, in order to qualify to receive the up-front costs associated with an apartment lease if they are available, potential residents must be able to demonstrate the ability to pay a monthly rent on a continuing basis going forward and meet all other applicable requirements of the landlord.

The GV law that was approved in July 2014 did not go into effect until November of that year, so as to give long-term motel residents time to make other living arrangements. Haley told us that her department was involved in discussions from the time the new law was proposed and that the county eventually assisted in the relocation of six families who had to move out of GV motels. Haley believes there were more people who were affected by the new law but that they “just left and found other arrangements on their own.” She said, “We were able to connect the six families with housing. Rents were more reasonable then and most of the people had income.”

Today, under one of its programs, Arapahoe County until recently has been able to help only those whose income is up to 125 percent of the federal poverty line, which comes out to $32,188 in annual income for a family of four. With the anticipated funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the third of four economic aid bills passed by the Congress since March 4 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, Haley said her department expects that it will be able to help families with income up to 200 percent of the federal poverty line, which equates to $51,500 in annual income for a family of four. “However,” she said, “The devil is in the details. Today there are zero subsidized housing units open in all of Arapahoe County and none of the subsidized units even have room on their waitlists. With no subsidized housing available and a tight rental market, tenants must be able to pay market rents, which are generally at least $1,200 per month, and pass background as well as credit checks required by most landlords. Those are obstacles for many people.”

In September 2019, the cities of Littleton, Englewood, and Sheridan came together to engage the Burnes Center on Poverty and Homelessness of the Graduate School of Social Work of the University of Denver to undertake a study of individual and family homelessness in those three Arapahoe County cities. The goal of the study was to determine the underlying causes of homelessness and develop strategies to help people overcome the barriers and challenges to securing permanent and stable housing. The researchers hoped to interview families “who live in an emergency shelter, local motels, vehicles as well as situations where they are doubled up with another household.”

The three cities agreed to split half the total cost of the $107,141 study and Arapahoe County agreed to fund the other half. The study was scheduled to be completed this month, however, it is likely delayed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. As the study got underway, then-Littleton Mayor Linda Brinkman said of the homelessness problem in Arapahoe County, “It’s not going away and we can’t ignore it.”

Today there are zero subsidized housing units open in all of Arapahoe County and none of the subsidized units even have room on their waitlists.

– Linda Haley, senior resources manager for Arapahoe County