WEEK OF FEBRUARY 29, 2024
VOLUME 104 | ISSUE 1
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
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Arapahoe County offered resources such as food and coffee on Jan. 23, 2024, at Castlewood Library as part of its point-in-time count. PHOTO BY TAYLER SHAW Data from this count helps the county designate funding and develop homelessness prevention programs.
Homelessness programs face funding challenges BY NINA JOSS NJOSS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
On a single night in January 2023, 442 people were experiencing homelessness in Arapahoe County, excluding those in the City of Aurora. And this is only a fraction of the number of people in the county who are homeless, according to experts. Individuals can be missed in the annual point-in-time count, part of a national effort to get a snapshot of how many people are homeless. Some
may have the luck to sleep in a motel or friend’s home as the count takes place. And, not everyone experiencing homelessness is sleeping on the streets. Still, the picture is helpful to Arapahoe County as it works to coordinate solutions to homelessness with regional partners. Yet it is also facing a funding crisis as American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, funds, granted during the COVID-19 pandemic, dry up. The funds have supported many programs meant to
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reduce homelessness. For instance, $1.5 million went towards an eviction reduction program that helped nearly 700 families avoid evictions, according to the county. The county also put $10 million towards an affordable housing grant program that helped create more than 665 housing units throughout the county. But as these funds run out, the county is concerned about what
BEHIND THE CHANGES AT ENGLEWOOD’S CAFE P8 180
ART RAISES AWARENESS ABOUT HUMAN TRAFFICKING P24
SEE HOMELESS, P10
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LEARNING TO HEAL
Program helps teach pets to be service dogs
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