Program designed to end homelessness is starting

BOULDER» Sunday, a new system designed to end homelessness in Boulder County will go into effect.

The system, called coordinated entry, wants to divert as many people as possible out of the system so they don’t become homeless in the first place, and the rest — the chronically homeless with mental health, substance abuse or physical health issues — will be sheltered until they get housing.

To work, the plan requires a high level of coordination between the county government, the city governments in Longmont and Boulder and a bevy of homeless service providers and faith communities. Plus, the system will need the right amount of housing for people who have been on the streets for years, plus enough funding to support separate navigation service centers in Longmont and Boulder.

The basic idea behind coordinated entry is that anyone seeking homelessness services in Boulder County comes through one front door to be screened so agencies can work together to figure out a way to keep them off the streets, several homeless service providers said.

The assessment must screen for people who are part of a family or people under the age of 18, because this first phase is only designed for single adults facing homelessness.

Families will be sent to organizations such as the Emergency Family Assistance Association, and teenagers facing homelessness will be referred to other agencies such as the Inn Between in Longmont or Attention Homes in Boulder.